Is It Wrong To Avoid Troublesome Things?
by NakaruSoul
Summary: Bored after countless cycles of light and dark, the Soul of Cinder decided that it's time to change and promptly ended the cycle. Now he found himself in a new world with Gods and Goddesses watching over the inhabitants and an entire dungeon to explore. What's the first thing the Soul of Cinder did? Work in a pub with plenty of beautiful maid girls, duh.
1. Prologue: Cinder in the Dungeon

**Prologue: Cinder in the Dungeon.**

 **-0-**

 **Dungeon- Kiln Of The First Flame**

Fire.

There was only fire burning wildly in this desolated place.

But what else could one expect when the place was specifically called the Kiln of the First Flame.

Amidst the raging inferno of the first flame, there was a person in the center of the entire thing. The Soul of Cinder knelt on one knee in the flame and was ignoring the fire that licked his armored form with relative ease. It almost looked like like he was offering a silent prayer while being burn alive. His hand, donning a gauntlet that bear hideous burns and contortions, was wrapped tightly around the hilt of a sword embedded into the ground.

If one were to looked closely upon the sword, they would noticed that the blade that was imbedded in the ground was coiled in shape instead the straight blade of a traditional sword. The sword itself was glowing red, like any weapon would when it's placed in a furnace yet it's form remained the same, unchanging and unyielding to the fire where a normal blade would have melted into a pile of molten slag long ago.

If it were anyone else in the Lord's place, they would have gone mad from the pain. They will be burning constantly, their flesh melted away to show their bones only the flesh to regenerate to burn again. They will experience that never ending torture until their souls burn out, leaving a hollow husk behind to act as a defender of the Kiln until another Undead comes and kill them so they could either link the flame or usher in an age of dark.

But since this is the man's third time being burnt as fuel for the sake of the 'greater good'; his general reaction to the entire thing was 'meh'. It was rather hard to feel anything when he'd already gained complete immunity to fire no thanks to linking the fire the first time around. The only burning was his soul and after everything he did during his adventures, it's safe to say that it won't burn out at all. It's freaking enormous and after a millennium spent stuck in here, he could barely feel a trickle of his soul being burn away. Well, it may have something to do with the fact that he's not really linking the flame right now but who cares about the schematics.

He had lost count of the number of cycles he had lived through but only three of them was the most memorable for him. Those times were the one where he first awoken as an Undead with no memories, the one where he managed to complete a cycle whist completely naked and the one where he resolved to use the first flame to change the world completely and thus ending the need for another cycle. It'd also help that all those three times was the ones where he'd choose to link the fire instead of letting another poor sod to do it for him.

And to think it all this began when he'd first woken up as an Undead in a cell and freed by a Knight named Oscar. Great fighter that man was, so was his descendant Anri. Anyho, they both managed to beat the demon guarding the asylum they were in and set off to follow some vague prophecy left behind by his family. The Lord of Cinder followed only because he was bored out of his mind and wanted something to do. Fulfilling some suspicious prophecy sounded a whole lot better than playing with the strange doll in his cell.

Throughout their adventures, they did many fun and entertaining things like pushing each other off cliffs; making friends and enemies; finding out that Oscar's sister became a Firekeeper; praised the sun; recruiting a ton of people to join their merry band of misfits; making inappropriate jokes about the vaginal looking dragon; dragon tail hunting; meeting a naked lady with a spider for legs; mistaking a dude for a chick; hoarding weapons and armors because he like collecting and wasn't satisfied with an incomplete set; testing said weapons and armors on each other because of the wiggle room provided by their Undead status; kill Patches and a whole lot more.

But sadly, all good things come to an end... save of Patches. That guy never dies for good. Fucking bastard.

They reached the end of their adventure at an older version of the Kiln where he's currently in and fought with Lord Gwyn himself for the right to be the next guy to burn themselves. Actually, fight wasn't the right word to use here because they never really did that. They more or less just drag Gwyn's hollowed form out of the Kiln and pushed him off the cliff.

Sadly Gwyn didn't die without a fight because he grabbed the nearest person available to take down with him. That person just so happened to be Oscar. And of course, in his effort to prevent his death Oscar reached out and grabbed the nearest person, which just so happened to be the Soul of Cinder. That caused a chain reaction of people grabbing onto people and ended up with everyone falling to their deaths.

It would seem that Gwyn's reputation of being a God is rightfully earned. Even as hollowed and mindless as he was, he still managed to take down a group of at least six people in one go.

Then after everything was said and done, the group had a rock-paper-scissor match to decide who would be the one to link the flame. Needless to say, the Soul of Cinder won and had a tearful farewell with his mates before grabbing onto the coiled sword on the ground. Then fire slowly rises from his surroundings as he felt his soul being burn to keep the fire lit.

It hurt, like a lot. He was pretty sure he went insane there but got bored of it after a century or two. Thankfully, his body grew resistant to the fire after an amount of time had passed.

Anyho, centuries later he could feel his soul waning away and the fire began to fade again. He waited patiently for himself to became hollowed like Lord Gwyn but oddly enough, it never came.

Then out of nowhere, the next guy came around to link the fire like he had did before. What was his name again? He was pretty sure it started with a 'V'. Venny? Vandick? Vendetta? Bah, too troublesome to remember. So, once Vendick arrived to the Kiln, seeking the First Flame for reasons unknown, he was expecting a fight from the Soul of Cinder. However, instead of a fight, the Soul of Cinder surprised Vendick by telling him that he can have it because he's going on an overdue vacation and there was nothing anyone can do to stop him and promptly left, leaving behind the confused lad.

What he did with the first flame was a mystery for the Soul of Cinder but he couldn't care enough to find out. He'd been bored out of his mind for centuries because he couldn't move from his post until the fire fades.

With his duty shamelessly pushed onto another person, the Soul of Cinder went back to adventuring to see how much the world has changed. How long had he been doing so was something he didn't know because he wasn't keeping track. Somehow, after years of traveling he ended up in Majula and met up with Anastacia, Oscar's sister.

She'd been reincarnated and goes by the name Shanalotte by then though and he's pretty sure she doesn't remember him. Oh well, it didn't matter much to him and after hearing from her on how utterly fucked the world is because of Venny abandoning his duty, the Soul of Cinder decided that maybe he should do it again for old times sake and proceeds to steamroll through everything that stood in his path to reach the Kiln once more.

Being ridiculously overpowered from the first cycle sure has it's perks.

Things were so easy that he stripped to his underwear just so it would be more challenging for him. It was not, if anyone was wondering, but he did enjoy watching Shanalotte blush whenever she saw him in his undies. Heh, good times.

Anyway, to sum up the adventure in this cycle here's a list of things he did: He made plenty of new friends though some tried to kill him because of reasons; found plenty of new weapons and armors that he hoarded like a greedy bastard that he is; kill Patches again, or rather Pate as he calls himself now; help scorpion dude get though his wife's period; leave while they were busy with make up sex; found Vandick hiding from his wife in a tomb; dragged Vandick out so he could face her like a man; hunt dragons for their tails only to be disappointed that they can't be turn into weapons anymore; praised the sun; ignoring people's request for him to cover himself; rode a dragon like he always wanted to; managing to crush said dragon due to lack of pilot training and other stuffs.

It didn't really take long for him and the gang to reach the Kiln and faced off with Vandick's wife. And of course, he beat her with ease while singing the curb-stomp song. Oh, and Vanny's brother showed up for no reason when they were done with Vanny's wife.

And so, the cycle continued when Cinder linked the flame again and centuries later, he once again pushed his job to another guy and went off the radar to do whatever he wants. Countless cycles continued to come and go. Some linked the flame while others left it to fade and he had witnessed it all while remaining hidden from the world, not really doing anything to stand out.

It took a while for him to realized that the world is stagnated, unable to move forward from the never ending cycle of light and dark. He was feeling rather bored because of the similarities of each cycle and since he wanted to see something new, he decided to do something about it himself.

And so, when the fire was about to fade once more, he seek out the Firelink Shrine instead of directing others towards it so they could link the fire themselves and found a very pleasant surprise waiting for him there.

It was none other than Anastacia/Shanalotte. And this time, she remembers him from both her incarnation. He couldn't be even happier to reunite with someone from his olden days.

She has no name during that cycle he took it upon himself to gave her one. All he had to do was combine the names of her previous incarnations together. Annalotte. Genius if he do say so himself. And best of all, she took a liking to the name.

Oh, Andre was there too. Him and his magnificent looking beard never fails to remind him of the good old times of his first cycle. Andre was still mad at him for setting his beard on fire by accident back then but eventually forgave him as time passed when he repeatedly apologized via prostrating himself whenever they met. He thinks that Andre only forgave him because he was being annoying and it was the only way to get him to stop.

And so, another adventure began and meeting old friends' descendant was always fun. He even pushed Anri off cliffs for old times sake but her boyfriend wasn't really that happy with him for doing so. At least she was fine from the fall, only prolem was that she was surrounded by giant crabs and a giant ballista was repeating firing at her.

The same thing happened like the last two times he tried to link the flame so there's not much to say; he collected even more weapons and armors; felt sad that there were only two true dragon left and one was already taken by Gwyn's son who turned out to be Andre; tried stealing his dragon; dragged other Lord of Cinders to their throne alive kicking and screaming; found the old giant that so kindly made weapons for him during the first cycle alive and well; tried to push him into Firelink shrine and failed; build up smithy for him outside shrine with help of Andre; met up with the Quel sisters at the ruins of Izalith and move them to the Shrine; kill Patches; praised the sun; met a slave knight who told him he had a daughter that's being held hostage in a painting; accidentally ended up at where Worlds' end converge; met his merry band of misfits from the first cycle; had another wild adventure; kill Patches….again; had another tearful farewell with friends; met another version of himself due to convoluted timeline and eventually, reaching the Kiln again.

And of course, instead of linking the flame or letting it fade, he did something unexpected, much to the surprise of everyone present to witness it. He uses the flame to recreate the world from scratch. What no one knew about the First Flame is that it's the core of the very world they live in. The moment someone linked it, they have a brief window to activate a function that would allow them to modify the world in their image before of being used as fuel. He only found out about it during his second try since the first time around he was busy screaming as his body imploded from the inside only to be regenerated for it to implode again. He didn't managed to activate said function during the second try because he was too shocked by it's discovery and missed his chance.

The first thing he did while creating a new world was erase every trace of the old one. Every single bit, no matter how small, how minuscule. So, every spell, miracle, pryomancy was gone with a poof, even the very land people stood on. For a brief nanosecond, everything was completely white and people were standing on empty space before the land and sky around them reappeared with nothing of the old world in them. The world was reborn in a clean slate, free for any influence of the previous Gods.

The people were left alone but had their memories wiped clean. Every tale, myth and legend was gone. Then he forced the dark and light to co-exist like a displeased mother scolding her children for misbehaving and being mean to each other and thus, effectively ending the cycle of light and dark and breaking the Undead curse caused by Gwyn.

The third thing he did was to hide the Kiln deep within the earth, like so deep that it wasn't even funny and build an entire dungeon above it. Then he made the dungeon semi-sapient and gave it the ability to create monsters with only one goal in mind: Keep those damn kids away from the Kiln. From the very top of the dungeon were the weakest enemies, to scare away cowards and weaklings without killing them and the mobs would only grow in strength the more floors they descend. But he wasn't that cruel as he had left safezones at some areas so they could rest safely as a reward for reaching that far.

He made the dungeon to keep people out of his hair while he works but he had no idea the dungeon would be used for profit by the people of the new world.

The forth and final thing he did somewhat disgusted him but it was somewhat necessary. He made Gods and Goddesses to look over the people that inhabit the world to make sure they don't go extinct from doing something stupid. No, he did not gave birth to them in any way. He just willed them to exist and poof, they there are. They had no idea who made them nor do they care and it suited him just fine as long as they would keep watch over the people and help them in their time of need.

With everything said and done, what's left was to use his soul to keep the world from falling apart while it slowly stabilized and thus, leading to his millennium years of kneeling in the mist of blazing flame. Still, he could tell that it's almost over because the fire around him was starting to fade, which is a good sign for him because his legs were ridiculously stiff from all the kneeling he did.

He can't wait to venture out into the new world he had built and see for himself just how different it would be from the usual.

 **-0-**

The Soul of Cinder blinked beneath his charred helm. He looked around him to confirm what he was seeing is real. It took a full minute before he registered that his eyes were not deceiving him in the slightest. The fire has faded from the Kiln completely yet there was no sign of the dark approaching. The usual feeling one would get when the age of dark blankets the world was absent.

Naturally, he shot up from his kneeling position and cheered with his arms shot up in the air.

" **It worked!"** The Soul of Cinder cried out in glee. His voice was distorted by his helmet, causing it to sound malicious and distorted with a bit of echo in it even though the person was anything but. **"It actually worked! Finally I'm free! Free from the dull cycle of light and dark!"** He laughed happily before he suddenly fell back and collapse to the ground. **"Argh fuck! My legs! They're so stiff! I forgot how bad it could be after kneeling for so long."** Even though he was feeling very uncomfortable because of his dead legs, he couldn't help but keep grinning under his helmet.

Finally, after so long...he's free. He wondered if this world would actually be peaceful for once but he highly doubted it since he didn't do anything to change human nature. He's pretty sure there's going to be racism and wars but hey, at least the dead doesn't come back to live and start killing everyone anymore so that's always a plus.

After laying on the ground for a while, he could feel his legs awaking up again and he quickly stood back up. He did a few stretches to work out the kinks in his body and promptly head towards the giant doors that lead out the Kiln, eager to see just what's on the surface of his dungeon. He really hoped that the Gods and Goddess that he'd made were doing their job and keeping the monsters of his dungeon from crawling out and massacring everyone.

He'll admit that it was a design flaw but at least the monsters from the lowerest floors would come out for no good reason.

He opened the doors only to be greeted by the guardian of said doors that just so happened to be the most powerful thing that the dungeon could create. He'd say hello to it but it tried to kill him the moment it lain it's eyes on him after some slight hesitation. He could only stare in amusement as the guardian tried to kill him with it's massive sword and he realised that when he set the dungeon's objective to keep people out, he had forgotten to put himself in the V.I.P list. Naturally, everything would attack him too.

There is intelligence in the guardian's eyes, telling him that the creature before him is so much more than a mindless brute. It also seem to have recognized him but ultimately decided to attack him anyway even though it pains it to do so. The Soul of Cinder wondered if the creature before him was just following the purpose that's programmed into it's very core when it attacked him.

Oh well, nothing he could do about that for now so why bother.

With a flick of his wrist, the guardian that was busy trying to cleave him in half was nothing more than splatter of blood and guts on the wall. The Soul of Cinder just stared at his bloodied hand in disappointment. He had forgotten how boring it was to be overwhelming powerful. He was, without a doubt, tired of all the fighting and with great power comes great idiots who think they could beat you.

This life is going to be a pain if things continued to be like this. If only there was a way to change that….

Then he got the bright idea to seal all that power away and turn back towards the Kiln's bonfire. He gripped onto the coiled sword in the center and willed all of his strength into the sword. Easily enough, everything that made him powerful was sipped away from his body and sealed away into the sword, rendering him nothing more than an average human like how he first started.

And of course, being an average human now, the equipment he was wearing was a tad bit too heavy to him and he was promptly dragged down by the weight and slammed onto the ground face first.

It took great effort to escape from the confine of his armor but he managed it.

"Urgh, should've thought of that before." The man shook his head but froze as he realised something crucial when he spoke without his helm distorting his voice. A hand reached out to his throat before he spoke again. "Ah- ah- Testing, testing. One two three. By Gwyndolin's confused boner inducing looks! I sounded so young!" The man's- or rather, teen's eyes were widen to a considerable degree as he quickly took out a neat and clean shield from his bottomless box by the bonfire so he could examined his body carefully on the reflection.

Sure enough, he had turn back into a puny looking teenager instead of the muscular looking middle aged man that his body was stuck in for eons. His short hair was still the same shade of white while his eyes were amber with a faint lick of flames in them. You'd hardly notice it unless you really focus on them while leaning in real close.

"Well, I didn't know that would happen when you transfer your all strength away." He mumbled with a tilt of his head before shrugging nonchalantly. "Meh, too troublesome to fix. Not like I'll miss anything other than my height." The Soul of Cinder then proceeds to find something suitable to wear from the box because he didn't want his first impression to the inhabitants of the land for him to be an exhibitionist.

He ruffled though the box, feeling nostalgic as his eyes look over the countless amount of weapons, armors, dresses that he would never admit to have worn and tools. He was searching a while before he finally found something suitable to wear.

The wanderer set. Clothes that's light and easy to move in while providing decent protection from the elements. Best of all, it was plain enough that he could remain inconspicuous while wearing it. He's a weakling now so attracting attention is a big no no. Sure he have eons of combat experience and the reflex to get him out of tough situation but he's not stupid enough to risk it. It even has a hoodie on for him to cover his face with. Hoodies are cool.

Fortunately, due to one of Vinheim Dragon School's lost Sorceries that he still couldn't unravel, everything that went into the box was enchanted with the ability to fit all sizes. Not the weapons though, still can't figure out why.

With his new clothes on and a simple straight sword by his hip, he set off towards the door only to quickly turn back when he remembered it would be suicide for him to do so now. "Right, no longer the almighty god of crubstomp. Need to remember that." The teen muttered to himself before scratching his head in thought. "How the fuck am I going to get out of here now?" Needless to say, the Soul of Cinder was not very good at planning ahead.

"Oh right!" He slammed a fist in an open palm with a plop as he remembered something important when he was constructing the dungeon. "The shortcut to the surface!" He grinned as his head snapped towards the teleportation circle he had hidden away. All the years adventuring had thought him to appreciate shortcuts that was somehow only accessible at the end of the place he was exploring. Who and why designed things to be like that eludes him but hey at least he didn't have to backtrack all the way just so he could replenish his supplies.

And so, the white haired teen strode straight towards the shortcut and to be whisked away by magic. In a blink of an eye he would be transported straight to the very first floor and in a small safe zone. Then it would be all about avoiding a few monsters and reaching the surface. Easy.

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd forgotten something very important as he felt himself being transported away. Oh well, if he'd forgotten about it then it couldn't be all that important.

More importantly, a new world awaits so he should focus on what he's going to find when he reached the surface instead. Oh ho, this is going to be fun, he just knows it! But he's not going to do anything that involves fighting though, he's totally done with that. Maybe he could find some jobs to do, one that would allow him to met interesting people without having to pick up arms.

A bartender maybe?

While he can't make awesome drinks like Siegward, he could at least make something decent. He didn't spent all those years fighting after all. Meh, too much to think about. Explore first, decide later.

With that in mind, the Soul of Cinder vanished from sight.

 **-0-**

A few moments after the Soul of Cinder was teleported from the area, a soft, feminine voice spoke up from the edges of the Kiln. She sounded drowsy and confused, like she had just awoken from a long slumber.

"...M'lo...rd? Where has thou gone off to?"


	2. Chapter1: Rabbit in the Dungeon

**Chapter 1: Rabbit in the Dungeon**

 **-0-**

 **Dungeon- First Floor**

As the Soul of Cinder, or Cinder for short, traverse the wide passageway of the Dungeon, he couldn't help but marvel at his surroundings. The walls, floor and ceiling were all naturally formed with a light blue hue. He stopped walking and moved closer to the wall, studying the odd coloured rocks that made up the place. Cinder placed his hand against it as if trying to feel the material through his leathered glove. The Lord of Cinder couldn't help but smile and let out a hoarse chuckle as the coolness of the wall seeps through the leather and into his hands.

He retracted his hand and stares at his fingers, noting that the entire area that made contact with the wall seem damped. It seems that some water had soaked into the material while he was busy molesting the wall. Cinder just rubs his fingers together as he enjoy the sensation created by the wet glove before a cool gust of wind blew by, causing him to shiver in glee as he felt the breeze against his skin. He had to fought the urge to break into a silly victory dance then and there.

If anyone who knew who he was saw him acting like a curious child right now, they would've shook their head in disappointment and told him that he's being childish. He would ignore them of course, and proceeds to do what he was going to before they interrupted. Truth be told, he really couldn't help acting this way. He was feeling water and wind against his skin for the first time in ages.

Ever since he had woken up as an Undead all those years ago, he knew that that was something missing or had been dulled. It didn't take long for him to figure out that his body could no longer feel things the way he used to. Everything just seems...out of place. He could no longer tell if he's hot or cold; getting stabbed in the gut hurt but the pain he felt is equivalent to having stubbed his toe. And when he dunk his hands in water, he really couldn't feel the liquid; only the resistance they provided when he moves his hands in them.

Then he linked the flame for the first time and his entire body became seemingly alit. It was like he became fire itself, manifested in human form. It's visually stunning and quite intimidating but sadly, being constantly on fire meant that he really couldn't stay wet for long as water vaporized instantly upon contact. Sure, he could jumped into the lake or river if he wanted to get wet but it wouldn't be long before the entire thing started boiling and killing all the fishes that were living peacefully inside.

Those poor fishes….but at least they tasted good boiled even with his dulled sense of taste. Okay, he lied about them tasting good but he wanted to give their deaths some meaning at least.

Cinder didn't know what to think now that his body could feel things the way he used to as a human. He could stew on it but he left that question unanswered for now and began walking down the hallway again. He had a feeling that he could take as much time as he needed to figure it out. He's a free man now after all. There's no duty to hold him back as his role as a Lord of Cinder is already over.

He's excited to see what's next in life and he could tell that he's not the only one.

He could feel it, the surges of emotions coming from within him that were not his own. The other Lords were slowly stirring from within him after being dormant for so long. Cinders and Dark Lords, those who had linked and abandoned the flame respectively, an uncountable amount of them all contained in one single vessel. They were just as excited as he to witnessing something new even if most won't admit it outright.

When Cinder linked the flame for the first time, he was undoubtedly surprised to find his soul had fused with Gwyn's after he got his sanity back. He had discovered that their memories were shared, leaving nothing hidden from each other. Sadly for Cinder, that also includes Gwyn's sex life.

It was not a pretty sight to behold.

But in exchange for witnessing something so mentally scarring, Cinder now knew all of his sword techniques, Miracles and fighting strategy. Best of all, he also knew the real reason why Gwyn raised Gwyndolin as a daughter. While Gwyndolin having affinity with the moon's power may seem to be a legit reason for Gwyn to do what he did; the real kicker was that Gwyn's wife used Gwyndolin's affinity as an excuse to put him in a dress because baby Gwyndolin was just so adorable. She would've castrate the man on the spot if he tries to change anything so he had no choice but to let it be.

Gwyn was outright in shock when he saw toddler Gwyndolin running up to him in a much too big dress while calling him Papa.

Anyway, it wasn't easy getting used to having Gwyn inside him at first but he managed somehow. Eventually, even more idiots went to link/abandon the flame and their own souls would fuse with Cinder and Gwyn's even if they weren't present in the Kiln. Even though they had accomplished so much and managed to successfully reached the Kiln, Cinder decided that they needed to go though one more test before he would considered them as proper Lords.

And so, every new guy that joined had to sit though Gwyn banging his voluptuous wife because Cinder had made it into a rite of passage for being a Lord of Cinder. Truth be told, it was a completely optional memory (something Cinder had learned after a while with Gwyn) when they fused but Cinder isn't going to tell them that until they finished watching it. Thankfully for them, it's only five minute short and sadly for Gwyn, everyone knows that he could only last five minutes in bed.

Gwyn was not happy with that info being thrown around like that.

Then he linked the fire again for the third and final time, fusing with the rest of the Lords who had been restarting the cycles in other timelines. Cinder had plenty of time to get to know them all as there wasn't much to do during his time in the Kiln as the world stabilizes.

Because of their fused souls, everyone now knows why everyone did what they did during their lives; good or bad, ethical or unethical and silly or stupid. While it mostly won't completely justify their reasons for doing what they did but at least they understood why they did it and why it was the only choice available for them back then…except for the mentally unhinged ones of course. Those fellas just wanted to see the world burn or be left in the dark just for laughs.

Sometimes, the other Lords' personalities and behavior tend to bleed over and caused Cinder to act differently than he usually is. And some other times, they even took command from him, leaving Cinder in the passenger seat to pout because he's no longer the one driving the vessel.

Thankfully, they made ground rules when it started to become crowded in there.

The first and foremost is that Cinder gets control of the body most of the time. It would've been Gwyn out of respect since he's the first to have linked the flame but the old man has no interest in that so it's left to the second guy who did, a.k.a Cinder. Cinder could also switch with someone every once in a while when he feels that he wanted to take a break, something he rarely did.

Secondly, every important decisions that perks the interest of the Lords must go through half the Lords' approval before it can be enacted.

Frankly, it's a democracy in there.

The only one who has the final say to everything regardless of anyone's opinion is Gwyn but the old man never spoke at all ever since his Soul was fused with Cinder's. He mainly just grunts or show disinterest at whatever they're doing and never really interacts with the rest. 

Cinder suspects that the old man is still brooding over the fact that he was tossed off a cliff. Sheesh, it's been eons since that happened and the old man still haven't gotten over that.

The only time Gwyn took control, much to the surprise of everyone, was when Cinder was facing Aldrich. Pissed is not a good enough word to describe how Gwyn was feeling when they caught the slimy bastard trying to tentacle rape a sickly Gwyndolin.

Even though Gwyndolin was sick and all, he still put up a great fight against the slimy Lord of Cinder. Everyone enjoyed watching how Gwyn was trying to pretend he doesn't really care about his son and how badly he was at hiding the feeling of pride emitting from his Soul when Gwyndolin managed to beat Aldrich with just the minimal assistance from them. Gwyn may act like a total douche most of the time but deep down inside, he's just a big softy.

In other words, Gwyn is a tsundere.

 **-0-**

 **Dungeon- Fifth Floor**

"Hmmm, how odd. How very odd indeed." Cinder mused loudly as he took note of his surroundings. The walls around him had turned from the light blue hue to a light greenish one for quite some time now. "I should've been out a long time ago yet there's still no sign of the exit." He mumbled to himself as he tried to figure out just what might have caused the change of colour and why he isn't seeing any bright light that usually tells him that he's reached the exit of a cave. He's fortune enough not to encounter any monsters while he was gawking around in the dungeon.

As time passes without exit in sight, a growing unease started settling in his stomach. That feeling forced him to think about the thing that he's been keenly avoiding to think about ever since he saw the walls turned green.

He's lost.

It's not the first time this happened when he went traveling. In fact, you could say that it's almost a guarantee that he would get lost at least once when he head outdoors. He's directionally challenged and he isn't afraid to admit it… not that it's something to be proud about.

Strangely enough, even when he got lost on his way towards his objective; he'd always managed to arrive somewhere else in time for something important to happen. One of the examples is that he'd arrive at some random mountain when trying to get into a forest only to see a gang of bandits trying to rob some poor sod.

it's almost weird that he never seem to go where he wanted to but always arrived at where he needed to be to help people with their problems.

With a long sigh exhaled, Cinder kept on walking in hopes that his ridiculously random luck would lead him towards the exit sooner or later. Maybe, he's being impatient right now but all he could think of doing is to head to the surface and see what kind of civilization had build itself upon the new world. Just imagining the possibilities is making his body tremble in excitement.

"Hm?" Cinder's fantasies of the outside world was abruptly interrupted when he thought he had heard something coming from in front of him. The Soul of Cinder strained his ears to see if he was mistaken.

He wasn't, and the sound was coming towards him at a rapid pace. If he didn't know better, it almost sounded like hooves stomping on the ground.

It didn't take long for him to see a strange creature heading his way. Cinder narrowed his eyes to study the creature as it close the distance between them. Cinder couldn't help but think it resembles a Taurus Demon only with more fur and a cow like appearance on it's upper body.

And of course, while Cinder was busy comparing the creature with the one he's used to seeing, he failed to notice that the monster had already reached within range to attack. He didn't have time to think about how fast the creature was and let his instincts take over.

He dodged backwards just as the creature tried to swat him out of it's way in a hurry, almost as if it was running away from something.

Sadly, he miscalculated just how far he could leap out of the way due to having shorter and weaker limbs.

Cinder let out a pathetic grunt of pain as he was sent flying a few feet away from the monster. He hit the ground hard, causing the Cinder to grit his teeth as he felt something he haven't felt in a long time that he had almost forgotten what it was.

It was pain. And boy does it hurt like an old friend greeting you with a kick to the nuts.

Cinder skidded across the ground, propelled by the force of the Minotaur's swing. Somehow, the white haired teen manged to roll back up and used the momentum to increase his speed as he ran the away from the charging monster.

' _Shit!_ _H_ _ow am I suppose to fight that thing when I'm going to trip or misjudge my range_ _of attack_ _. I'm still not used to my new body's height for crying out loud!'_ Cinder cursed as he ran. He could tell that he's not in any condition to do any fighting as of yet. Just from being hit by the Minotaur once was enough to tell him that it was a magnitude weaker than the Taurus Demon that he knew and fought with. Even so, with his abilities he had right now, taking it on is not advisable. The best he could do to it right now was bleed aggressively at it and annoy it with blood stained fur.

This feeling of fighting an overwhelming foe kinda reminds him of his first cycle. He would've take the time to soak in the nostalgia if there wasn't the freaking beef steak chasing him down like he just had it's mother for barbecue.

Cinder winched as he felt a painful sting on his chest where the Minotaur had struck and he could feel something warm and sticky sliding down his arm. He lift the limb up so he could see just what it was and he almost stopped running in shock.

' _I-I'm bleeding?'_ Cinder took note of the liquid pouring down his arm, he must've broke the skin when he slid against the floor. Okay, he knew that he's weak now but seriously? Bleeding just because he scrapped against the floor? That's just sad.

It shouldn't be that surprising to see himself bleed. He bleed all the time when he fought against worthy opponents. But all those time he got wounded in a fight, he bled golden ichor. The same shade of colour like the liquid in his Estus flask. The reason for the golden blood was mainly because Undead don't have anything inside their bodies to bleed in the first place. When they get cut open, there really shouldn't be anything coming out at all unless they had been chugging Estus just before. But now though, he's bleeding blood. Bright _red_ blood.

' _Wha-how?'_ The question came to mind. If he's bleeding blood now then does that mean he's human again? When did it happened? He was sure that he's still an Undead when he first awoken in the Kiln. Did he turned into a human when he transferred all of his strength into the sword? If so, will he become an Undead again if he retrieve it?

There's one thing he knew for sure though. He no longer have the safety net of being an Undead. If he die now, he'll die for good. That also mean he can't fight the way he used to in the past. The only reason why he could fought aggressively during the old days was because he knew he won't stay dead for long. But now though, it's better to play it safe and use the oldest tactic in his arsenal that he never though he would use again when engaged with new foes.

Run like hell.

And so, Cinder ran like a bitch with the Minotaur close behind. What Cinder didn't know at that time is that the Minotaur was using the same tactic he's employing right now as it ran from the two adventures chasing after it.

' _Okay, quick question. Can I parry and riposte it?'_ Cinder mused as he ran, turning his head around to look at the smaller Taurus Demon lookalike as he tries to gauge it's strength. The stinging in his chest had subsided a bit so he wouldn't be distracted by the pain and it made breathing more manageable. Breathing, that's another thing he never really needed to do for a long time. Seesh, how do humans fight properly for a long period of time if they need to wheeze like a dying asthmatic once they got exhausted?

Cinder never thought he would actually miss being an Undead right now.

' _Would I risk it?'_ Another question ran through his head. After a split second of thinking while examining the bulky muscles on the creature, he decided that he would rather not trying something like that now that he could no longer revive if he messed up.

He can trying parrying it if he so chooses but ultimately he's not Oscar so his success rate is ridiculously low.

That old knight is a master at parrying. If there's a God of parrying then Oscar is without a doubt the one they should worship. He could even parry things that shouldn't even be parriable in the first place. Every single attack from the enemy had been parried at least once and Oscar could wack the giant arrows from the air fired by the Silver Knights and sent them back with ease. He could do the same with Sorceries and pyromancies too.

Hell, Oscar could survive a fall from great heights and be completely fine by parrying off the ground. Let's not forget the fact that he could do all of that without shields.

Cinder is very jealous of Oscar's ability to parry everything. If Cinder were to try parrying then he would always get a blade to the face for his troubles. He could never get the timing right for some reason and gave up after dying two hundred times while practicing the parrying technique.

' _Damn it! If only Patches were here so I can use him as a distractio- Oh hey, is that a person?'_ Cinder's thoughts of using the most despicable Undead in existence in various interesting ways was abruptly interrupted when he sensed a living Soul coming towards his general direction. Cinder quickly peer into the incoming person's soul to see if he's hostile or vile in nature. If so, then that person is going to be his distraction. It'd be easy as stabbing em in the leg and let the Minotaur focus on them first while he makes his escape.

However, Cinder was not expecting to find someone with the soul of a hero coming his way. The soul he felt was so pure, so naive and so full of limitless possibilities. It's the rarest kind that would ever grace the earth and so far, he had only met a handful of people with that kind of soul. They always ended up doing great things, carving their names into legends as their souls evolved into something much more beautiful. They all have their own goals when they started out but ultimately, they just wanted to be a hero, to save people….also maybe to get laid or make their own harem while they're at it.

It'd be a shame if that person were to die here and now, especially since a hero's journey is bound to be entertaining to watch. Heck, all the others that he had followed to see where they'll end up always prove to be the most enjoyable time in his Undead life. So many drama, so many jealous women or men fighting for that person. Cinder's totally going to follow this one just like the rest. That would also mean doing whatever he can to ensure both of them survive the beef steak.

It didn't take long before the person enters his sight and if Cinder were to hazard a guess, the person that's coming his way is probably still a kid judging by the height of the person and how young the soul felt. Either that or he's a midget that's mentally retarded.

Seeing that the kid's head is swinging from left to right periodically, Cinder guessed that he's looking around cautiously as if he were on alert or something. Sadly the kid was looking everywhere but in front of him, otherwise he would've ran away when he saw Cinder leading a Minotaur straight towards him.

"What the hell are you gawking around for kid! Run! Run someone's trying to penetrate your ass!" Cinder screamed a warning for the boy as he got closer and the kid finally turn to look in front of him in surprise. The surprise the kid's felt quickly turned into pure horror as he stood shock still when he saw what's coming towards him at the speed of a raging bull.

Cinder took the chance to examine what the kid look like while he was still frozen in shock. He note of what he's wearing first. Yellow long coat, black trousers, yellow gloves and boots, a backpack. And according to one of the former blacksmith turned Lord of Cinder inside him, the kid has a low quality chest piece and common grade dagger too. Cinder could tell from what the kid's wearing that he prefers speed over strength just like him, which is good because he's going to need speed if he wanted to outrun the giant beef steak.

The clothes he wore provides flexibility but not much in the defense department. Seeing that there isn't any wounds on the kid other than some dirt and dust on his clothes, Cinder guessed that the boy is either very good at dodging and rolling away from attacks or he just likes to play on the ground.

And when Cinder finally got close enough to look at the kid's face, it was his turn to be in shock. ' _Good Gods, it's a girl!'_ Cinder exclaimed in his head in surprise. The kid had white hair and red eyes, followed by a feminine and young looking face that made her look quite cute. Cinder could compare the girl to a rabbit if he wanted to since her messy hair somewhat resembles rabbit ears. But, Cinder couldn't completely think of the kid in front of him as a girl because the body is obviously a boy's with it's slightly broad shoulders and lack of breast...unless it's hidden beneath the armor and pitifully small.

' _By the Gods, it's not another Anri or Gwyndolin type situation is it!?'_ Cinder bemoaned as he ran pass the kid, stretching an arm out to grab em by the collar to drag along. The kid let out a girlish yelp as his feet was dragged off the ground. If only he's skill in sensing souls were better then maybe he could tell a person's gender through the soul. Sadly, he didn't really have much practice with it because he only uses it to judge whether or not he need to deal with someone before they become a problem.

This is probably going to be the third time Cinder's going to be facing a gender crisis. Firstly, he did so with Gwyndolin by thinking that he's a woman. The second time would be thinking of Anri as a male because of the armor and the distorted voice caused by her helm. Boy, it sure was an awkward moment when he dragged both Anri and Horace into the makeshift bath since they both reeked.

It didn't take long for the kid to start running alongside Cinder once he or she got pass the confusion and shock. "Why is there a Minotaur on the fifth floor!? I thought they only appear on the fifteenth!" The kid shouted the question with a panic stricken face.

' _That thing is called a Minotaur? Also, the fifth floor!?'_ Cinder thought in annoyance. He's suppose to be on the first floor for crying out loud. Just how did he even managed to wander off so far into the dungeon without even noticing it? Oh well, he'll need to ask his new partner in crisis if he knew the way out. Cinder glance over towards the kid, opening his mouth in preparation to ask his question but stopped when he saw the state the white haired child is in.

The young un's crying while screaming at the top of his lungs while doing his absolute best to get away from the Minotaur. He also has the face of someone regretting his life decisions that lead to this moment. How did Cinder never noticed the screams until now is a mystery. Oh well, not important. He's never going to get anything out of the kid unless he calms down.

"Oi, focus! I need to ask you something that might save us!" Cinder snapped sharply at the white haired kid who had tears trailing down from his eyes to keep him from thinking about the impending doom behind them. His voice seem to have gotten the kid out of his fear induced haze because the kid blinked repeatedly with a shake of his head before answering.

"H-hai!" The kid reflexively answered as the two ran down the hallway.

"Do you know the way to the surface?" Cinder asked the moment the kid finished talking, not giving him time to think about anything else.

"Y-yes!"

"Alright then, it's settled! You'll be leading the way Genderless Child. Do not think of anything else other than reaching the surface, you'll only be distracted by those thoughts and it'll slow you down." Cinder told em with the new nickname he had come up on the spot since he had no idea what the kid's name is.

Genderless child just swing his head at him with an incredulous look on his face. "G-genderless child!? I'm a man you know!" The kid complained childishly in a very cute manner as he pump his fists up and down as he ran. He's also quite fast now that Cinder thought about it.

"Well, good of you to let me know! Now I won't to check myself!" Cinder laughed loudly. "Also, you're still a few years too early to call yourself a man." Cinder grinned at him, noting that the kid is rather annoyed but less fearful right now. This is good, he'll just need to keep his mind of the Minotaur so he could think straight. "Alright, which way!?" Cinder shouted before the kid could respond. They had just ran towards a branching path. Cinder had no idea which one is the right one so the safest thing to do is to let Genderless Child lead.

"This way I think!" The white haired rabbit took a turn to the left and Cinder followed dutifully.

They both continued to ran while Cinder made quips to keep the kid's mind engage in something else other than the Minotaur. Sadly, it didn't take long before they ran straight into a dead end.

"Er...kid? There's no path left." Cinder pointed out as they stopped right in front of the wall.

A look of horror descended upon the kid's face as he realized that he had just lead them both to their doom. "Oh no…" he trailed off and the sound of hooves thumping on the ground made both of them turn around.

The Minotaur was closing in fast, looking rabid and wanting blood. The kid took a step back in fear but tripped on a rock, causing him to fall on his ass. He didn't do anything to get up as he stare at the monster while his entire body tremble. Cinder look at the poor child before turning his attention towards the Minotaur.

' _Well, I'm not going to get through the kid anytime soon when he's like that.'_ He had seen plenty of others in that state many times now. Enough that he know that their attention is solely focused at their harbinger of death and they couldn't see or hear anything else. Normally a good shock therapy could knock them out of it but Cinder isn't really sure if that would do any good right now.

Sure, the kid might be able to move again but what good will that do? They're both weak compare to the creature before them. While Cinder has more than experience to survive this encounter, he couldn't say the same for the rabbit boy. Cinder could fight and win, albeit with much difficulty due to his shorter limbs and it'll take time wither away it's health. But during the time Cinder is dealing with the Minotaur, the boy might get caught up in either one of their attacks and die in the process. Jeez, it's like dealing with stupid hosts that summoned him again. They just keep dying even with his best effort to keep them alive. Shitty idiots.

' _This is really a dilemma_.' Cinder thought as he kept his eyes on the monster. If he choose to fight then rabbit kid may die. He'll survive but a great source of entertainment will be lost to him and he's sure there won't be another one with a soul like the kid's until a new era arrives. If he choose to help the kid escape while acting as a distraction then he himself might die. If he guessed correctly then he can't come back to live anymore if he die now so it'll be a permanent slumber instead of a short nap. He had just woken up in a new world full of new things to discover. He really didn't want to die without experiencing any of it.

To think that in the past he was yearning for an actual death but now there's a chance of actually dying for good, he didn't want to die.

In the end it all comes down to these two choices. Save the kid so he could grow into a hero or save himself and let a would be hero die before he could achieve greatness. Cinder's life is one that should've been extinguish a long time ago. So if it were up to him alone then he'd probably sacrifice himself to save the boy. But no, he's not alone. He bears the souls of other Lords and right now and they're debating among themselves to see whether or not they should waste their lives just to save one single soul that may or may not be worthy.

The results came in rather quickly just as the Minotaur was not more than ten feet away. The ones who wanted to save Rabbit boy managed to win by a tiny margin. Thankfully, the rest, like Gwyn, simply didn't care enough to vote or are still dormant and is unaware of what's going on outside. Cinder didn't know if that's a good thing or bad.

Cinder pull his hood down so his vision wasn't hindered, he need to extend his senses fully if he wanted to live long enough to distract the monster for Rabbit boy to get away. He stepped in front of the kid and draw his sword, his eyes looking around his surroundings to see if there is enough space to do wide swings. "Okay! Run while I distract it Genderless child!" Cinder shouted, loud enough to shake rabbit boy out of his trance and causing him to look at him.

"Huh- what?" The kid snapped his attention towards Cinder's back as he move to block the monster from his view.

"Do you have a dream kid?" Cinder asked, keeping his eyes on the creature as it stalks closer. "Goals you wanna achieve and things you wanna do even if it seem impossible and fate itself is against you?"

"Y-yes." Rabbit boy nodded, his voice trembling.

"Oh? What is it then? Tell me." Cinder let out is a rather amused manner, sounding almost as if he already knew the answer but is asking anyway.

"I want to be a hero!" Rabbit boy declares, his voice full of determination. Cinder didn't need to turn around to know what kind of face the kid's making but damn, he needed to see just what kind of resolve the kid have.

Cinder turn his head around to get a good look at the boy's face and he did the same. Their eyes met, red eyes staring into a pair of amber ones. Cinder could see the desire to survive burning brightly through his soul and the determination to make sure he did so shining in his eyes. The sight caused Cinder to grin. He's glad to know that if he did die here, it won't be for nothing.

"Then stand up!" He barked and the boy shot back onto his feet without wasting a second. Cinder nodded in satisfaction and turn back towards the Minotaur. "Very good. You may just be able to make it out of here today if you keep fighting to survive. Now, as I've said before; I'll distract it for you, find an opening to escape and live to fight another day."

"B-bu-" The boy shuttered and was interrupted by Cinder.

"No buts Genderless Child! You have a goal and I have a duty to fulfill." Cinder held onto his sword firmly as he readies himself. It should be easy to kill the thing, he just need to avoid getting hit. "When I start, you hug the walls so you won't get hit and wait for your chance."

"I'm a boy!" Rabbit boy cried out indignantly.

"First impressions are hard to get rid of okay!" Cinder retorted, feeling the trauma of past mistakes came back to hunt him as the memories flooded his mind. But he forcefully pushed them away and focused on his task. "Get ready!" At that, Rabbit boy quickly got into a stance and the Minotaur finally reached them.

"Get set!" Cinder raised his sword to his side, ready to launch forth and attack as the monster raised it's arms.

"G-" Before the words left his mouth, the Minotaur was suddenly covered with many white lines. Being the experienced one, Cinder knew just what those lines were and reacted instinctively and rolled out of the way to avoid what's next. Rabbit boy however, had no such experience and could only stare in confusion at why there was so many lines on the Minotaur.

The Minotaur exploded, spraying all of it's blood and guts all over the place. Cinder managed to get out of the spray's range but Rabbit Boy wasn't so lucky. The blood hit him head on, the suddenness and force caused him to loose his balance and fall onto his ass once more.

Cinder ended his roll by standing back up, sword at the ready and completely clean. He could only raise an amused eyebrow as he saw a woman standing at where the Minotaur once stood.

She's a very beautiful woman with long golden hair, gold eyes, and a slender body. She's wearing white and black battlecloth, black arm covers, and long blue boots. Cinder briefly wondered why she's showing so much skin though. The armors that she wore consist of a headguard, breastplate, arm guards, hip guards, and knee guards. The blacksmiths inside of him noted that her weapon is rather superb, not at Andre's level but still some fine piece of metal. Now that he thought about it, it's actually kinda unfair to compare things to Andre's because no one can reach his level. Like ever.

Then he finally noticed the other guy that ran up towards them. The guy had gray colored hair, along with amber eyes. He has a blue tattoo on the left side of his face and a muscular physique that wasn't really hidden because his jacket looked like it belonged to a kids and could only be left open to show his abs. He had something on his head that confused Cinder profusely that looked like ears, animal ears.

Oh there's a sleek tail hanging from his arse as well. It sorta reminded him of Priscilla's but hers are fluffier, not to mention very warm to wrap himself around. He really missed Priscilla and her tail.

Cinder could tell by their souls that they're strong by their own right. They might even give him a challenge during his first cycle before he gain the strength to challenge the Gods themselves.

Cinder noted that the girl had offered a hand out to Rabbit boy but the boy was unresponsive. He can't tell if he's seeing things but the boy's face looked kinda red and no, he's not talking about the blood.

Then, for no reason at all, Rabbit boy made a run for it even though they were safe now. He ran past all three of them, not really looking at anyone as he screamed like a girl.

Cinder could only stare at the retreating figure of the boy before someone burst out laughing. The laughter drew Cinder's attention and he realized that it was the animal eared dude that's laughing hard like a retarded seal. The girl just looked confused as to why Rabbit Boy ran away. Cinder wouldn't lie, he's confused too but he needed to catch up to the kid to make sure he made it out of here safely. That meant he don't have time to stay and chat with his saviors.

"Thanks for the save strangers!" Cinder gave them a wave as he ran after the Genderless child, ignoring how hard the guy was laughing to the point of collapse.

Well, today is really an interesting day. That is something he could say in absolute certainty.

 **-0-**

 **Dungeon- Kiln Of The First Flame**

The Firekeeper of the old Firelink Shrine pursed her lips to the side. She had her hand resting under her elbow as she uses her free hand to hold onto her cheek as she went into deep thought.

Frankly, she is in a bind.

There was a giant door in front of her made completely from stone slabs and she wanted to get out of the Kiln to find her Lord/friend. Naturally, she had no way to open it as she didn't have that kind of strength in her arms at all.

Annalotte sighed as she let down her arms, realizing that there's no way to get the doors opened and turned around. She walk back to the bonfire and knelt on both knees in front of the Coiled Sword.

She could feel it, her Lord's strength and power, all sealed inside the sword. She understood why he did it as she had been his friend for a long time. What she didn't understood is why he choose transferred all of it away. He could've left just a tiny bit inside him to ensure that he could at least survive whatever the new world he had created might throw at him. But he didn't, he had thrown and locked everything away into the very sword in front of her, like he was running away from it.

She couldn't help but worry that something might happen now that her friend is vulnerable. She knows that he's experienced enough to handle every threat but she still feel uneasy.

She looked at the burning sword in deep thought. She seem to perk up when an idea was slowly forming in her mind. She could siphon some of his strength from the sword and give it to him. Then her shoulder slacked when she realized that he might be upset that she had so little trust in his abilities to survive.

She continue to debated on whether or not she should do so for a while, just silently kneeling in front of all that power in front of her.

It took some time to come to a conclusion and in the end, she prefer an annoyed friend over a dead one.

Annalotte slowly raised both her hands towards the Coiled Sword and call forth some of the power sealed within. She could feel wisps of the flame slowly extending towards her hand, condensing in them and slowly taking the form of an ember.

' _There.'_ She thought as she felt the small thing landed on her hand. The Ember in her hand is barely even a fragment of the power contained within the sword but it should be sufficient enough to keep her friend alive if he ever got into a troubling situation. Sadly, It's not a permanent solution to the problem as the power would fade after a few minutes, rendering her friend back to before he uses the Ember. She wished it could be permanent but his strength is firmly locked inside the sword, he'll need to return here to retrieve it himself if he wanted it back.

Annalotte slowly raise from the ground, clasping her hand over the ember gently and protectively before she placed it in her pouch. Now she would need to deliver it to him but how? She turn her head towards the door and sighed again when she thought about it.

She will need to find another way out.

Then a thought suddenly hit her. If her friend had lost his strength, then how did he escape this place? She then faintly recall sensing some magical energy coming from the corner of the Kiln when she had awoken from her slumber. Could that be how her friend escaped?

Annalotte quickly made her way over towards where she had felt the energy but paused when she felt like she had knocked over something. She didn't know what it was because she's blind and could only see the world through her ability to sense souls. She bend over and tried reaching for it. She could feel some sort of parchment when her hand touched the object.

Her hand traced what she was touching, feeling the dust covered paper as she tries to remember just what it was.

' _Ah.'_ She thought was she realized just what it was. _'I see. It appears M'lord could not bring himself to erase it when he created the new world. It was her gift to him after all.''_ The thing she had knocked down was a painting. A painting of a warm, bright and gentle place, one that reminds her of the laughter of a very lovely little girl.

Annalotte sighed and stood back up. She didn't have time to think back on the past as she needed to deliver the Ember to her friend post-haste. She knew that he's bound to get himself into trouble sometime soon and she wanted to make sure he's at least prepared to take it on.

And so, Annalotte moved towards the portal and used it, not really knowing what she might find at the other end.

Had she been paying attention when she was touching the panting, she would've noticed that the ember in her pouch had glowed faintly before returning to normal. Had she stayed for just a while longer, she would've noticed that something had happen to the painting. But she didn't and she had left in a hurry.

With Annalotte gone, small ripples was forming on surface of the painting. It was like the calm water of a lake being disturbed and a small hand started extruding from the middle of the ripple.


	3. Chapter 2: Firekeeper In The Dungeon

**AN: Someone raised an interesting question that I should've made clear during the last chapter. The ember by itself can last indefinitely by itself. The power it held will only start to disperse when Cinder uses it. Other characters that managed to survive to the present day will slowly be revealed as time passes. They might already be integrated in the society already.**

 **Warning: Bad grammar and wrong use of tenses. You have been warned.**

 **-0-**

 **Chapter 2: Firekeeper In The Dungeon**

 **-0-**

 **Babel- Ground Floor**

"And there he goes." Cinder murmured between pants as he watched the Rabbit boy, still soaked in blood, ran out of the door and into the streets from the building they were in. Cinder had just finish climbing up the spiral stairs that leads into the Dungeon just in time to catch a glimpse of the white haired boy vanishing into the busy street. His blood soaked figure was drawing a lot of stares but Cinder supposed that in his panicked state, he wouldn't have noticed.

Oh well, they're safely out of the Dungeon now so he suppose that there's not much of a need to keep him close by to keep him safe. Sure, the streets by themselves could be dangerous in their own right but it's not like anyone would try and mug a kid that's completely covered in blood now is there?

Is there?

' _Urgh. Damn. I'm not as young as I used to be. I used to be able to run for days without feeling any_ _kind_ _strain but now all it took to knock the wind out of me was climbing_ _up_ _the freaking stairs._ _Granted that it's a long set of stairs but the kid managed to run through it just fine._ _'_ Cinder kept a hand on one the rails so he wouldn't collapse from the exhaustion, hoping that Rabbit Boy wouldn't get himself into trouble now that he can't look after him anymore. He can't let the only promising entertainment he had found so far kick the bucket before him now can he?

Then again, maybe the reason why he got tired to easily was because he's human again."Bloody human body and it's bloody weaknesses." Cinder grumbled in annoyance.

Once Cinder got his breathing under control, he stepped away from the stairs so he wouldn't block other people's access to the Dungeon and started surveying his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that there were a lot of people. Like, really a lot. There's so many kind of people here that it's almost staggering for the Soul of Cinder. They were also armed to the teeth with interesting weapons but not interesting enough that he'd want to collect them though. The last time he had seen so many gathered in one place and so full of life was before the last Age of fire ran out. They were unarmed of course, since the Undead isn't clawing out of their graves yet.

There were a lot of races from what he could see, each with their own unique characteristics. There's also a lot of people with animal parts on their bodies. Just how and why are there animal parts on their body is a mystery. It's almost like Seath decided that he's bored again and tried mixing humans and animals together just to see what would happen.

….it's not like he would do something like that wouldn't he?

After thinking about the old dragon's personality, Cinder concluded that yes, Seath definitely would do something like that. He'd probably forced the human and animal to have sexual intercourse while giggling like a mad scientist. He would probably be furiously wanking off at the side while he's at it too. Who knows just what the creepy old dragon had been doing in his fap cave after he left him there after freeing the women.

Maybe he shouldn't have spared that dragon in the first place. Definitely regretting that decision now but he did do a huge favor back then so he really can't complain about it now.

Anyway, from what Cinder could see so far, there are midgets; cat poeple, scantily cladded dark skinned women, dog people, rabbit people, tiger poeple, wolf people and most importantly, scantily cladded dark skinned women. Did he repeated that part twice? Then, it's because it's important to make note of. Those women aren't really doing anything to hide their modesty for fucks sake! From what they're wearing, it's no different than just having pieces of paper plastered over their private parts.

Why do they need to wear so little while heading into the Dungeon!? Shouldn't they be wearing armor to protect themselves from the monsters inside? Why is everyone treating what they're wearing like it's normal. Are they that arrogant or is simply challenging themselves like the deprives would? If it's the latter then he'd probably understand since he did the same thing himself. But the oversize weapons on their hands kinda debunked that notion.

With weapons like those, you'd probably be able breeze through hordes of newly arisen Undead before finally being overwhelmed by their numbers.

' _Urgh, the questions are killing my brain_ _and I just had it back for like an hour_ _.'_ Cinder massaged his temples as he felt part of his brain just died upon witnessing something so bizarre. Feeling the need for a change of scenery that isn't just tits and ass, Cinder tore his eyes away from the people and focused on the building instead.

From what he could tell, he's in an extremely large circular room that had multiple columns at equal intervals holding up the ceiling. The ceiling also had a beautiful azure painting of the sky right above him that. Cinder just stared at the painting above him while lost in thought. It's beautifully done and a lot of effort was put into it that much he could tell. He don't know why but just looking at it made him feel nostalgic. Maybe it's because it reminds him his daughter's work.

It didn't take long for Cinder to notice that by standing still and looking upwards, he had drew quite a few curious stares himself. _'Uh oh. Guess_ _I've been staring at the painting for too long.'_ Cinder quickly stopped looking and walked away. _'Tis' a shame that I can't stay and admire the painting longer. Ah well, I'm sure that there's plenty more for me to see as I explore this place so there's no need to feel sad.'_

While he was moving, Cinder decided to check how his body was doing since it hasn't really been long since he was knocked off his feet and shot through the air like a ragdoll. He's human now so and he's pretty sure he's not as durable as he used to be when he was an Undead. He wanted to make sure if his body is still working as intended or if he needed to heal with some minor healing miracle before moving on.

Oddly enough, he doesn't feeling any pain at all when he pressed a hand against his chest. It felt like some of his ribs cracked when he was hit but now, nothing. Cinder had a look of concern on his face as he rolled up his sleeve to check the scrap on his arm only to find smooth skin at where he was suppose to be injured.

Hmm, odd. It's almost like he was never injured at all. He almost couldn't tell if it wasn't for the blood stained sleeve.

Do humans usually heal so quickly? And most importantly, does this mean he need to clean the blood off his clothes on his own now since there isn't any bonfires around to do it for him anymore? He doesn't even know the first thing of doing laundry. How is he suppose to clean blood and muck off his clothing if that's the case.

He didn't spent a lot of time thinking about those question because he was nearing the exit. Cinder's eyes locked onto what's beyond the opened doors and grinned.

He could see buildings neatly lined up together, streets filled with plenty of activity and the real, limitless sky with some clouds hanging in the air. Cinder noted that he's either in a very populated town or a very large city. Either way, it's a bright and beautiful day outside for anyone; and for Cinder, any day without the sun being blacken out into a Dark sign is always a beautiful one. And in days like these, what else could a man do but enjoy every minute of it to the fullest.

Cinder's going to tour the place without a single care in the world, soak in the sights and met with plenty of new people. Okay, maybe not the last one since his social skills are extremely rusty after not really having anyone to talk to besides the other Lords inside his soul. And they don't really talk at all, they just need to think it and the other guy would get what you were thinking. They're also are not really good conversationalists to be honest.

"Alright then. New world, here I come." Cinder spoke softly to himself with an excited chuckle and took a confident step out into the unknown city that he found himself in. This is going to be a great adventure, he just knows it. Nothing is going to rain on his parade. Nothing!

 **-0-**

 **Dungeon- Tenth Floor**

Aiz and Bete was making her way back towards the lower floor to meet with the rest of her party. The Minotaur horde that they had encountered along the way was unexpected, even more so when they started running away. Thankfully, they managed to hunt all of them down and she was rather relieved that none of the lower level adventures got hurt or killed during the incident. Still, even after everything was over, she couldn't get her mind off the blood soaked boy from before.

She didn't know why he ran away from her right after he saw her when she was just offering to help him up….she's not that scary is she?

"Aiz, Bete. You're the last ones back. I assume that there's no trouble with the ones that got away?" Aiz' contemplation on whether or not she looked terrifying to others was interrupted and she turn her attention solely on the one that called her.

Standing not far from the expedition group was a tall, beautiful elf with sparkling emerald coloured hair that was tied into a tail. And like all elves, she has a pair of sharp pointy ears. She greeted the two as they returned from the fifth floor to exterminate the last Minotaur. The elf wore a white cloak on top of a green and yellow military coat with a black belt around her waist. She also wears dark colored stockings below long black boots. Her entire person gave off a very serious persona and her mostly stern face further reinforce that impression as a pair of clear jade coloured eyes gaze over them to see if they were unharmed.

It was completely unnecessary of course, but that's just how Riveria is. Always the mother hen of Loki's Familia.

Riveria nodded to herself once she was done and her features soften a bit, clearly pleased that they were fine.

"Of course not. Who do you think you're talking to." Bete huffed in annoyance as he strode pass the elf and head back to join the rest of the group.

Riveria ignored his attitude with ease, already used to the way Bete talks and turn her attention to Aiz. "Well Aiz, since everyone's back already I suppose that it's time to proceed to the surface. Gods knows that it's been quite some time since we've seen the sun." Riveria said with a small smile gracing her lips, gesturing for Aiz to come over and join them.

Aiz stood and watched as Riveria went and join the others. Amidst the rowdy group of adventurers, a few stood out to her.

There was Bete, arguing with the Amazoness Tiona like usual. Finn, a blond haired Pallum trying to avoid Tiona's sister Tione's affection. Gareth Landlock, a Dwarf that's laughing heartily at Finn's misfortune and Lefiya, a hard working blond elf and the apprentice of Riveria who's training to succeed her, was shuttering quite a bit when talking to her Mentor.

Aiz watched as the group interact with each other, feeling rather content with how things were as a whole as they all started moving heading towards the exit.

This is her Familia, her family. She wouldn't want to be anywhere else than with them.

 **-0-**

 **Orario- North Main Street**

"Aaaaaaand I'm lost." Cinder announced to no one in particular as he looked around. He appears to be in some sort of market place if the stalls by the street is anything to go by. "Not really surprising at all to be honest." He continued before sudden thought came to mind. Can he really be considered lost if he never knew where he was heading in the first place?

' _What am I suppose to do now?_ _I've only thought about reaching the surface but not what comes after._ _'_ Cinder groaned in irritation as he felt his earlier cheer dissipate into nothingness and annoyance took it's place. He really should learn to start planning ahead, he had told himself that many times but it just keeps slipping his mind. Even the other Lords had tried reminding him but they all gave up eventually as they saw how pointless it was.

' _Right. Think clearly. This isn't the first time I went exploring a new age. The first thing I need and is sorely lacking is information.'_ Cinder thought as he rubbed his chin, adopting a thinking posture as his feet kept moving on their own along the busy street. As Cinder went deep into thought, he usually stopped paying attention to his surroundings. But there's no fear of him running into people or things as one of the other Lords, usually the one that was nicknamed Justice by Cinder, would temperately take control of the body's motor function to steer him away as Cinder tries to process things in his mind.

Being so easily lost in thought is a bad habit that Cinder has developed over the centuries. For a fighter to loose focus of his surroundings in the battlefield as it usually meant mistakes would soon follow and quickly accompanied by death itself.

But after being the epitome of overwhelming power for so long, one couldn't help but feel disinterest in the fight itself when their opponents are flimsily weak. He really needed something interesting to do when wholloping those idiots asses, especially since they just keep coming. Just what's with power that keeps attracting those idiots anyway? It's like they can't get the message that they just don't stand a chance.

' _O_ _h?_ _W_ _hat's this?''_ Cinder was knocked out of his musing as he noticed something very particular in the distance. While he was busy thinking, he did not neglect to employ his ability to sense other souls. The ability could also give him some semblance the surrounding area. If he wanted to explain what it's like, the best he could describe the experience is that a colorless painting of the area he's in will appear in his head, with colorful dots representing the souls of others.

That way, he would at least know when he's about to step into a pool of boiling hot lava. Thanks to the constant nagging of the other Lords, the need to keep the skill on has more or less been ingrained into him so he could keep it on even while he's distracted.

They really didn't like it when he walked into that pool of lava that one time.

Cinder fully focused on what he the soul that caught his interest and started analyzing it. There was someone not far from where he's at and their soul felt quite particular. It's almost like a large part of it is missing or rather, sealed away. There's also a sense of familiarity emitting from it that he can't quite place a finger on. He really wondered just who it was over there that could have a soul like that.

Feeling that it's quite pointless to think about when the answer is just a minute's walk away, Cinder quickly made way towards the person in question all while humming a tune from from the good old days.

 **-0-**

 **Dungeon- First Floor**

Annalotte find out the hard way that she couldn't rely on her ability to sense souls in the Dungeon as she pat the dirt and dust away from her skirt. She winched slightly as her hand accidentally touched her knees as they still stung a little from her fall earlier.

It had been only a minute or two after she had been transported away from the Kiln. And right after she was transported, she was disorientated due to the sudden shift in location. It was a mistake for her to move while she still haven't regain her bearings and she tripped with the grace of a drunken peacock.

Embarrassment was all she could feel at that time but her embarrassment soon turned into confusion as she couldn't get a clear grasp of her surroundings with her ability to sense souls.

All she could sense was the presence of a humongous being surrounding her, alive and breathing. It's soul was pulsating with abundance of energy and generating some sort of smaller live forms inside of itself with each pulse. It almost felt like she's inside the bowels of a large beast.

Annalotte started to worry because she's literally blind without her ability to aid her. She tried to move around again even though it was not the best idea and it lead to her tripping the second time because she was still instinctively relying on her ability to grasp her surroundings.

Now that she had learned that particular lesson, Annalotte decided on the wait and see approach. She didn't quite feel like falling every time she took a step after all.

With nothing much left to do for the moment besides worrying that she may never get out or what kind of messes that her wayward Lord would get into without her having the front row seats to it all, she started experimenting with her ability. She was trying to see if she could get the image of the ground instead of the whole area so she could walk without fear of kissing the ground. Trying to see outside the Dungeon is ultimately fruitless as the Dungeon would prevent her senses from leaving it's interior.

It took a few adjustments but she eventually worked out the kinks so that she could see the ground underneath her, just barely though. Now she could at least move without fear of tripping over anything but other than that, she still couldn't tell where she was.

'' _Tis quite worrisome this is.'_ Annalotte though with a small sigh. If only she could find a way out of the Dungeon then finding her friend would be a lot easier.

She could tell that there are many souls in the floor that she's in, most of it were the creatures born from the Dungeon and the few others are human souls in a large group… and some of it were had a mixture of animal characteristics in them? They are most likely the inhabitants of the new world the Lord of Cinder created.

Annalotte wondered if her friend did something when he was recreating the world. How else would there be souls like that if it weren't for the middling of a very childish individual. Either that or Seath managed to survive this long and decided to experiment again. 

She could tell that they are strong, very strong. Perhaps strong enough to defeat a Ringed Knight if they ever encountered one. But Ringed Knights were trained to fight as an army, fighting as a group is where their skills truly shine. It will be no surprise if the people here could defeat one of them when they're alone.

They were an interesting group of people. One of them is particularly prideful but still cares about his companions even though he would deny it. Souls do not lie, and she could peer into them and unveil all of their hidden emotions but she rarely do so in respect of a person's privacy. Just glancing at the surface is enough for her and she could tell that the particular group of people are trustworthy.

And they just so happen to be heading her way too. Hmm...she wondered if she could ask for their aid in leaving this place. It's certainly better than being stuck in the cold, drafty Dungeon. Oh well, 'tis not like she has anything that she could use to escape the Dungeon. And as her friend would've said it: 'Do it first, deal with consequences later'.

 **-0-**

 **Orario- North Main Street**

There's a child, working at a stall in the busy street.

Yet the child cannot be called a child at all as her figure is a complete contrast to the previous statement.

Those voluptuous bosoms of hers clearly proves it and those who had seen it could only call her a woman. But her structure is so small that at first glance you'd see nothing but a child... at least until she turned around and showed those weapons of mass destruction that could easily smother a man to death in their sleep.

' _It's a child….yet not a child at the same time. What kind of paradox is this!? I demand an explanation!'_ Cinder's eye twitched when he tried to process what he saw. The raven haired girl just continue to work with a happy smile on her face, selling some sort of brown looking food to her patrons and getting pats on her head. He wanted to pet her head too and couldn't help but notice how much her chest is bouncing whenever she moves. It should also be noted that her entire breast is being supported by one very, very durable string.

Cinder now had every more questions than before. Just what is that string made of? Why hasn't it snapped from the abuse yet!? And most importantly, where can he find one?

It's only been an hour and a half and he was beginning to wish he had never crawled out of the Dungeon. First there women who wears too little clothing or clothing that completely emphases on certain areas of their body, most likely designed to draw the eyes of lecherous males and now there's children with ridiculous proportioned body parts. What's next? A race of women who kidnap men to have their babies?

Good Gods, it's like the world was specifically tailored for perverts. He didn't remember making the world this way. Then again, all he did was reset everything but replaced the Gods. Could it be? Had he accidentally left a lot of perverted Gods behind due to his carelessness and they molded the world this way just so they could stare at tits and asses all day?

That's actually quite a possibility to be honest.

Cinder could barely remembered what he was doing when he was reforming the world. He was also making things in a hurry so he never really did pay any attention for the little stuffs. A lot of things might have been left undone and mother nature had to work it out on her own.

He do know that the God's were blanks when they were made, only their traits and abilities were set in place. Their gender were randomized and they were left to grow their own personalities on their own while what they would look like were all up chances.

Could it be his shitty luck that caused most of the Gods to have perverted personalities?

….he's really not going to enjoy meeting with them if that's the case. He's not sure if he could hold back on spanking them if they started sprouting about how wonderful a women's body is because that's all they could think of. Oh Gods, he hoped the ones he had made in memories of his friends didn't ended up being perverts too. He couldn't bare to have a perverted Sunbro lookalike roaming around in the world.

It's settled, if he ever heard of a God out there that shouts 'Praise the tits', he's hunting him down without mercy to spare Solaire the embarrassment.

But first things first, he needed to focus with the problem at hand. He needed to find out just why he felt like he should know that child… or woman, whichever works. Maybe he could get some information on what city he's at while he's at it.

"Hello there." Cinder greeted the child as he approach the stall.

"Ah, hello. Are you here to buy some potato croquettes?" She turn around from the other customer and asked him with a face full of smile. Ignoring her shaking boobies, Cinder took a second to examine her face to see if he could recognize her but sadly, she's a new face to him. He's also very certain that he would remember meeting a child with massive tits before, no matter what era it was.

She has roundish blue eyes and sleek black hair tied into two twin tails with bows that had bell shaped ornaments. She wore a white mini dress with a blue string around her collar and one tied under her breasts around her arms for some reason. She also dons a pair of white gloves and completely barefooted.

' _Potato croquettes? Is that what she's selling?'_ Cinder looked carefully at the things she was selling and couldn't be more impressed. Judging by the name, he suppose that whatever the brown thing is, it's made out of potatoes. Times sure have changed. The most innovative food of his time was Estus soup made by Siegward and it's only meant for Undead since they can't really taste anything other than that. It's also pretty pointless to eat since everything else always tasted like ashes most of the time.

"Oh, no. I'm actually wondering if I could ask you some questions." Cinder shook his head reproachfully, not really a big fan of having the taste of ash in his mouth. Oh wait, he's human now. Maybe his sense of taste is back. Darn it! He just missed his chance of eating real food for the first time in ages.

"Hm? Sure, I guess. But make it quick though, I still need to work." The child replied.

"Well, I'm fairly new to this city so I'm asking around for things I need to know so I could get by. Can you tell me what I should know about this place in general since you looked like you're more knowledgeable in that regard."

"Hmm, I see." The girl nodded her head bobbly with a hand under her chin as she assumed a thinking pose. "It might take a while to properly explain it though but don't worry, this Kami-sama will gladly lend you her aid. My shift is almost over so you just have to wait a bit." She told him, thumping a fist in her chest as if telling him to leave it to her and went back to work.

' _Neat!'_ Cinder smiled happily as he thought that. Looks like he's going to get the info he wanted without having to threaten or torture anyone. It's a rather nice change of pace for a change. Also, there was something he couldn't help but be confused about when the girl talked. What's a Kami-sama?

The moment Cinder thought of that, one of the Lords from the Eastern land supplied him with the basic knowledge of honorifics so he wouldn't make a fool out of himself. Very convenient. Too bad Cinder isn't going to use it most of the time even though the Lord went out of his way to give him that knowledge.

' _S_ _o Kami means God or Goddess right?_ _Then, I guess_ _the girl in front of me a Goddess?_ _I suppose that means s_ _he's technically my daughter_ _right? No wonder why she felt so familiar. I freaking made her for crying out loud!'_ Cinder wanted to bang his head against something for not realizing it sooner but didn't because he's sure his head isn't as durable as before.

While looking at the girl, Cinder briefly wondered if he should get to know the girl better but decided against it in the end. It's still too soon and he's not really ready to let any of the Gods know that he's their father. No telling what their reaction would be when they found out who he was, not to mention the fact that he had abandoned them right after they were born. No doubt there's going to be chaos. It's a good thing he power was sealed in the Dungeon, otherwise the Gods and Goddesses would've sensed him the moment he stepped out of the dungeon.

With a source of information secured, all Cinder had to do is wait until she's done so he could begin his inquisition. He really didn't mind waiting since he was used to it. He had been waiting for a thousand years just so he could stretch his legs after all.

 **-** **0-**

 **Dungeon- First Floor**

"Sooooo, this man you're looking for just forgot about you in the Dungeon and went off on his own? Wow, he sounds like a total jerk." Tiona expresses just how displeased she felt about the man in question by looking like she contemplating on throttle him for the sake of the girl that they had just met.

"Well, tis' not the exact words I wouldst use but yes, Milord can be a jerk sometimes." The woman Tiona was talking to spoke with a soft giggle, her pale hand went to cover her mouth as she did so.

The woman that was interacting with Tiona stood half a head shorter than Riveria. She has long white hair that reached down to her back that seem to have lost their luster. She dons a black mantle over a black robe that hugs her modest figure snugly. A pair of dirty cloth that's wrapped around her pale arms to act as gloves and a long black skirt that completely covers her legs. Her clothes were worn down and they don't look like they were intended for combat. There was no visible weapon on her personal too and it begs the question as to why someone so poorly equipped is wandering around in the Dungeon.

There's also the fact that she wore a white crown that covers her eyes completely. Everyone in the Loki Familia had wondered how she could even see with that on but no one had the chance to asked it yet.

With the woman being distracted by Tiona and Tione, who was following her sister closely to stop her from getting too excited, Aiz noticed that the rest of the group were quietly discussing about the newcomer to the group.

The expedition group had just reached the first floor of the Dungeon not long ago. While they were expecting to run into low level adventurers and some monsters too stupid to know that they are completely outmatched, they didn't expect to meet a young woman, maybe no older than 17, to be there looking lost and confused. The woman went up to them the moment they saw her and asked if she could be escorted back to the surface.

The group agreed of course, seeing that there isn't a reason not to.

"So, what do you all think of her? Anything we should be worried about?" Finn asked the rest who had huddled up together further away in the back so that they could speak without the woman hearing them.

"While she hasn't shown any ill intent so far, I still think it's rather odd that someone like her is in the Dungeon without any means of protecting herself." Riveria commented, her jade coloured eyes were looking at the form of the white haired woman. "I'm very certain that she's not a fighter with how she holds herself yet she doesn't look like she had been attacked either. How she managed to get this far without being detected by any of the monsters is...curious. The question is, why did she came down here in the first place?"

"What's more curious is how the little lady is moving around without tripping or bumping into things. Maybe we could ask her." Gareth suggested. "But the again, she might not tell us as the crown might be some sort of magical item."

"Maybe. Tiona's working on that. Her personality is great at getting people to open up so lets wait for now. Bete, your thoughts?" Finn turn towards the resident werewolf for his opinion on the matter.

The man just shrugged and cross his arms, showing that he's clearly uninterested in the topic. "I don't really care about as long as she doesn't cause any problems."

"I see. Lefiya? How about you?"

"E-erm. I- I don't think she's a bad person." Lefiya managed to mumbled out, her fingers were twiddling together as everyone attention focused on her. "M-maybe she just wanted to gather s-some materials but got separated from her friend."

"Alright then. We'll escort her to the surface as intended. After that well… we'll see if we can help find the one she's looking for there." Finn declared with a nod and since no one had any objections, they either nodded along or remained quiet. Seeing that there's no need to linger behind to talk privately, the group got closer to the three ahead of them and continued to move along the floor without issue. They were either talking among themselves or badly pretending not to be listening in to the three ladies in front as Tiona continued to chat with the girl that they had found. Sometimes Tione would chip in but most often than not she just listened.

"You talk funny. Do you talk like that all the time?" Tiona giggled as she asked in childish curiosity.

The woman just looked confused before bowing slightly towards Tiona. "Prithee forgive me. Tis' a habit that I've been trying to get out of for a while now but to no avail. I doth apologizeth if it troubles you. I will try and changeth my way of speech if you so desire."

"No no no no. It's not bad or anything. Well, it might be kinda hard to understand but at least I can guess what you're trying to say." Tiona waves her arms around in panic. "I just thought that maybe if you talked like that then your friend that you're looking for might be the same. It should be easier to find him if that's the case right?"

The white haired woman shook her head slightly at Tiona's question. "No. Milord doth not speak like this for a long time now. But ev'ry once in a while, he'll slip back into the habit without knowing so it mightst work?" The woman sounded rather uncertain as she said that.

Tiona nodded before she thought of something and quickly spun around and latched onto the woman's arm. "Ne ne Annalotte-chan, can I ask you a question?" Tiona asked, practically bouncing on her feet full of energy even though they had been marching all day already.

"Chan?" The white haired woman echoed with a slight tilt of her head, seemingly uncertain of the meaning of that word. "But you've just did Tiona...-chan." She told her playfully, adding the 'chan' in the end almost like an afterthought.

Tiona pouted cutely at her but it was gone instantly, replaced with a beaming smile. "So what's your relationship with this guy? You even called him lord so does that mean he's a noble of some kind? Can you tell me? Pretty please with a cherry on top?" Tiona's energy seem to be radiating off her in waves because her surroundings seem to be sparking along with her eyes. She looked like a child that had just found something interesting and wanted to know everything about it.

"Hmm." Annalotte let out a thoughtful hmm as she place a finger on her chin with a hand resting on her elbow as she tilt her head slightly to the side in thought. "I doth not know. Milord do not seem to be of noble birth as far as I know." Annalotte told her, clearly putting effort in changing her way of speaking

"Ehhhh." Tiona let out in surprise. "But you call him Milord and everything. Are you in a master slash servant relationship?" Tiona suddenly gasped loudly as a thought ran through her head. The raven haired Amazoness quickly let go of Annalotte's arm and look at her with a very serious yet worried expression. "Are you a slave? Did he throw you away to act as bait!? If I ever see him then I'm gonna-"

"Oh no. We're just friends. I mostly calleth him Milord because it annoys him." Annalotte tried to clam the young Amazoness with a placating smile, feeling a bit touched that a stranger would care about her situation even though they had just met not long ago. "Knowest thou that Milord wouldst nev'r do anything so deplorable even if it could save him from death. He would rath'r die himself than let alloweth take his place. He also detests slav'ry above all else. Thy concern is wholly unneeded but not unappreciated." Annalotte placed a hand on top of Tiona's head and started stroking it to clam the girl, electing a 'hey' from her as she pouted at being treated like a child.

"Then Annalotte-san, is there a reason for you to call him that? You seems like you respect the man highly." Tione asked.

"First it is 'chan' and now it is 'san'. Truly, thine way of calling me is most particular." Annalotte stopped petting Tiona to face Tione, both her hands were clasp together as she walked.

"It's call honorifics Annalotte-chan. It's mainly used for addressing and referring to people. Don't you know it?" Tiona was the one who supplied that, giving the white haired woman a curious glance.

"Ah, I see. My apologies. I am afraid I am uneducated in the ways of thine culture. I will try and adapt if I can. But when thou call me like that it just seemed like a mouthful."

"Oh no, it's not." Tione reassured her. "Trust me, there are plenty of people out there with even longer and harder to pronounce names."

"I see. But at the very least, prithee call me Anna if thou can."

"Alrighty then Anna-chan~" Tiona called her with a bright smile.

Annalotte nodded towards Tiona with a small smile on her face before she return her attention to Tione. "Now, to answer thy question from earlier. 'Tis because I do respect him. From the very bottom of my heart." The white haired woman placing a hand over her chest as she said that. Ones who were listening could feel the passion in her words as a sincere smile slowly graced her lips. They could tell that she wholly meant it when she said that. "He deserves no less for what he had done for me, and I will do my best to repay him for his kindness."

Tiona couldn't help feel awkward upon hearing Annalotte's words since she had thought about doing grievous harm to the man whom she thought had used Annalotte and thrown her away when his life is in danger. Tiona just chuckled sheepishly as she rub the back of her head as she thought of apologizing.

"Ohhh, I'm sensing some kind of history here." Tione teased as she gave the white haired girl a sly smile. "There has to be some reason why you're so loyal to the mystery man that you've told us about." The more voluptuous of the two Amazoness gave Annalotte a nudge to the side with her elbow, eyebrow wriggling in a meaningful way even though she couldn't see it.

"Ohhhh, did you save you when you're in trouble like how a hero would, carrying you in his arms as he walk into the sunset?" Tiona's eyes were practically sparkling with interest. She love reading stories of heroes doing heroic deeds. Be it about a hero slaying giant monsters to saving damsels in distress, she'd read them all with the same enthusiasm she has regardless of how many times she had read them before.

"Why yes, he did save me in a sense." Annalotte answered bluntly, catching the older Hiryute off guard while the younger one beamed excitedly. "And no, Milord did not whisked me off into the sunset if that is what thou wanted to know." At that Tiona deflated with disappointment. "Milord simply offered me a way to escape from my fate when no one else would. He is not one to leave others to wallow in their miserable fate if he could help it. Knowing Milord, he will not stop just because thou said no to his aid, either out of shame or simply because thou believe there is no hope left; he will help thou regardless. I respect him for that. I choose to follow him from then onward because 'tis more interesting that way."

"I see. I think I understand that feeling of respect quite well." Tione said, eyes closed as her hands clasp in front of her chest with a content sigh as her mind was no doubt drifting off to think about Finn. Said blond Pallum just shivered at the very back of the group and he couldn't figure out just why it is that he did so as he frantically looked around for any kind of threat.

The group proceeds down the path for a while, getting nearer and nearer to the entrance to the Dungeon. The familiar path and the increase number of adventurers that they saw along the way told them that they were almost out and they grew more and more excited to see the sun once more with each passing moment. It was then did Tiona spoke up to Annalotte once more.

"Then Anna-can, you know... I've been meaning to ask..." Tiona trailed off as she looked at Annalotte's crown that's blocking her eyes, hesitating to ask the question that had been plaguing her since they met. "Erm..." Her eyes dart to Tione as if to ask her for support. Her sister shook her head quietly once she understood what she wanted to ask, indicating that she'll get no support from her. Tiona turn to look at the rest of the group behind her but all of them quickly avoided eye contact with her. Aiz didn't but that's because she's socially inept and had no idea what Tiona wanted. Tiona could tell that Gareth was interested but the rest were mostly so-so about the matter.

"Thou wishes to know about my crown." Annalotte spoke suddenly without even being asked. The way she said it didn't sound like it's a question but a fact.

Tiona recoiled in surprise at the suddenly the subject was broached and by the person who she had been trying to bring up with. Thankfully, she quickly regained her bearings and nodded. "Erm.. yes. How did you know? Can you actually see through the crown?"

"Oh no. I can't. Even if the crown can be seen through, it would be pointless as I am blind." Annalotte simply told her. "And as to how I know, 'tis simple really." Annalotte gave the Amazoness a small smile. "I could sense that thou hath been gazing upon my crown for quite some time now."

"Eh?" Tiona let out in confusion.

"'Tis an ability that I have. To compensate for my lack of sight."

"Ohhh, I see. A Skill then. So you can see without actually seeing with it's help?" Tiona wondered.

"A skill? I suppose so, yes." Annalotte nodded in confirmation.

"Hey. I get that you ladies are having fun and all but we're about to reach the surface." Bete suddenly cut in as he walk up from behind, earning an annoyed glare from Tiona that he so rudely interrupted their conversation. "We still haven't decided on what to do with you when we get there."

"Oh right." Tiona had a look of realization on her face as she thought of that. "Ne, Anna-chan. Can you just tell us what he looked like just in case we met him so we can sent him your way?"

Annalotte couldn't help but gave Tiona a look that seem to be conveying her amusement. Then she slowly lifted her hand over to her crown and gestured at it.

"Oh right, blind. Tee hee. My bad." Tiona rasp her knuckle at the side of her head as she giggled.

Bete snorted loudly at that, causing the petite Amazoness to turn her attention towards him. "As expected from a muscle head. You can't even remember that the person you're talking to is blind."

"Huuuuuuh?" Tiona stretched the word out as she glared at the werewolf. "You say something you mutt? At least I wasn't the rude brute who told a lady that she was smelly the first thing they met."

"That was not what I said and you know it! I simply told her she smell like ash! In what way did I ever say that she was smelly you muscle brained woman!" Bete growled at the Amazoness.

And of course, it didn't take long for the bantering to evolve into their usual tussling match, causing the rest of the group to either groan in exasperation or just flat out ignore them as they had witness this plenty of times before.

"Sorry about them. They get excited easily." Tione apologized to Annalotte who seem to be watching the two idiots wrestling on the ground in amusement.

"Tis alright, I do quite enjoy their company to be honest." Annalotte said, smiling brightly at how lively the group she was with is. It's a nice change of atmosphere from the usual doom and gloom she had come to know."I can tell that you all care of each other very much."

""No I don't! Who the hell would care about this Smelly Mutt/Ugly woman!"" The two who were fighting immediately pause their fight just to shout that before getting back. Annalotte just giggled at their synchronized response before turning to face Tione.

"Well, if it would help thou in thy search for my friend, I do know what he looked like. But that was ages ago so I'm not certain if the description is still accurate."

"Ehhhhhh!? But I thought you were blind." Tiona spoke up as she pulled on Bete's cheeks, ignoring how he was grinding a fist on top of her head.

"Oh, I am." The white haired woman confirmed. "But I used to be able to see until my eyes were removed."

""Removed!?"" Those who were more expressive shouted out those words, namely Tiona, Tione, Bete and Lefiya (with a shutter) while those who were more reserved and collected soak in that information and thought about it in their own way.

"Let's see." Annalotte continued as she tap a finger on her lips and ignoring the cry of surprise as she thought back to her last memories as Shanalotte. That was when she had seen the Soul of Cinder without his helmet on the most.… or anything else for that matter. She still remembered what he looked like clearly even if it had been a quite a few lifetimes since she had last saw it. His face she meant, Undead don't have any genitals and her friend never really bothered to unhollowfied himself back then and liked to prance around looking like a dried up stick.

It was funny, not that she would ever admit it out loud at the time.

He really wasn't happy when everyone eventually managed to pin him down and forced him to wear the crown to turn him back into a human form and some clothes before the fight with Nashandra. She terrified when she saw Milord stalking down the path to the throne all broody and moody. It would seem that some of her primal instincts of Manus were still there and it clearly remembered just who was coming for her.

"If I remember correctly, I know that his hair was white." Annalotte told the group.

At that, Bete and Aiz perked up as their thoughts went back to a while ago where they were at the fifth floor. "Wait a minute, I saw two guys with white hair not long ago. Didn't get a good look on their faces but they could be brothers or something." Bete said as he pushed Tiona off him, earning a startled yelp from the girl. "Aiz and I chased a Minotaur to the fifth floor and managed to kill it before it could kill the twos rookies. I'm sure that the two of them have white hair. They both bailed right after we saved them though." Bete informed the group as Aiz nodded along, confirming what Bete had said.

"The fifth floor? When was that?" Finn asked.

"I dunno, an hour ago maybe." The werewolf shrugged nonchalantly.

"An hour huh...they should be long gone by now." Fin murmured to himself.

"Oh hey! look guys! We're almost out." Tiona exclaimed suddenly, pointing in front of her with a bright smile on her face. In front of them were a set of large spiral stairs, stretching up into the air so high that it melted into the light that was shining down from above. It's almost like a stairway that leads into straight into heaven.

And of course, Annalotte can't see what Tiona was pointing at but she could feel how excited everyone around her grew. Judging by what Tiona had said, it seems like they had reached the entrance of the Dungeon. And like everyone else, Annalotte could feel excitement welling up within her bosom.

She couldn't wait to explore the world her friend made without the Dungeon hindering her from sensing the outside world. Thanks to her the kind souls that found her, she finally can and without any further troubles too. They were an interesting bunch of characters. Annalotte could tell that they all cared for each other in their own way after getting to know them, even Bete, the prideful and aloof wolf. Speaking of Bete, she really wondered if she could touch his tail just to see what her friend's fuss was all about when he said fluffy tails are the best.

 **-0-**

 **Chapter End**

 **-0-**

 **AN: I will slowly start introducing the other Lords of Cinder that's inhibiting the body along with Cinder. Don't worry, they won't be a strong presence in this story and will only be mentioned by Cinder from time to time. Maybe they will come out and talk with him once in a while but that's it. If they're lucky then maybe they will get a chance to interact with one of the main characters of DanMachi verse.**

 **So far there's four in mind since there's four fighting style that the Soul of Cinder uses when you fight him, not counting Gwyn.**

 **PS: Annalotte dialogues are hard. I need some place to study old english if I want to keep that kind of speech up. Or just let her adapt to the modern speech so I don't have to bother. The latter option sounds great in my opinion but it just doesn't sit right for some reason.**


	4. Chapter 3: Day 1 In Orario

**AN: Wow...three chapters in and I already have over a hundred followers. I'm honestly impress. This has never happened before. Anyho, please take your time and enjoy this chapter because it might be a while before the next one is up.**

 **PS: I just found out that there's actually a thing called Shakespeare translator. Definitely trying it out with Annalotte dialogues. Let me know what you think.  
**

 **Warning: Bad grammar and wrong use of tenses. You have been warned.**

 **-0-**

 **Chapter 3: Day 1 in Orario**

 **-0-**

 **Orario- Outside of the Babel**

Annalotte could feel the warmth of the sun caressing gently against her skin and the cool breeze blowing past her as she walked out into the open. It was a pleasant feeling, one that she would take her time to bask in had there not been another pressing matter for her to take care of. She was following behind the group of Adventurers that had found her in the Dungeon. She studied them with interest as they laughed, joked, butt heads and argue with each other. Annalotte thought that they're just like a large family even though they're a group of different races mashed together.

Annalotte enjoyed watching them interact with each other, she really do. It reminds her of a time, long, long ago, where she was still with the people she could call friends, gathered together around the bonfire because of one idiotic person who just can't seem to leave people well alone. She could still remember the tales that were shared by the fire, the laughter that filled the air and the feeling of lost and pain that everyone tried to forget and bury deep within themselves.

Annalotte stood to the side of the entrance that she had came out of while the group that she was accompanying continued on without noticing how she had lingered behind.

There was something she wanted to check for herself before she continue on. It was something that had caught her interest as she came out of the Dungeon. She turn around to face the building and moved closer to it. Once she's near enough, she slowly raised her hand and placing it against the wall. She could feel the material against her fingers, some kind of stone she thinks. She tried to get a sense of scale of the building as she slowly extent the range of her skill that she had been suppressing.

More and more, the area around her was slowly being revealed in her mind, like a picture being painted at a rapid pace. It would seem that her skill is working properly again, not surprising now that she's no longer in the dungeon. What is surprising however, is that the image of the tower kept on stretching upwards. It went higher and higher until suddenly, her sense could no longer show her any more of the structure.

It appears that the tower is tall enough that it went beyond her range. It's quite impressive really, and it seems like the tower still stretches on for who knows how long.

When Annalotte had finished climbing the stairs to the surface, she had wondered just where she was as she felt like she was in a large room. There was a tranquil feeling in the air and she could hear constant chatter all around her. She was surprised to hear from Tiona that they were inside a tower called the Babel; even more so when she learned that it was build on top of the Dungeon as a safeguard to keep Monsters from crawling out.

She was rather glad that the people had found a way to keep the monsters contained. She also felt responsible for the entire thing as they shouldn't had to worry about them coming out in the first place had she remembered that her friend can be rather short shortsighted at times.

She could've reminded her friend about the possibilities of monsters crawling out but she didn't. She was too entranced with the prospect of finally ending the cycle at the time and because of that, who knows how many people had suffered for it afterwards as they slumbered, waiting for the flame to fade before they could leave the Kiln.

With a sigh, Annalotte removed her hand from the wall and started focusing on other things instead. She turned her attention towards the constant pulsing of life beneath her.

Right below her and everyone else who is living in this city, is the giant labyrinth born with one sole purpose in mind. The people in this world called it the Dungeon. Even though so much time had passed, it was still dutifully doing what it's father had asked it to do with unyielding vigil.

The only thing Annalotte could say about the Dungeon is that it's humongous. If the entrance could be counted as the mouth then the Kiln, or tail, is quite possibly placed at the center of the earth.

Knowing her friend, he most likely won't make it easy for anyone attempting to reach there. He's going to have them work very hard for it, even if he had to make the journey there as atrocious long as possible. He most likely had already placed teleporting traps at the lower floors near the Kiln. That way, whoever got caught it in will be whisked back to the entrance and had to start all over again.

The Soul of Cinder can be wickedly cruel when he wanted to be. Annalotte could already imagine him sitting on his throne, giggling like mad whenever someone stepped on the trap and cried out in despair when they found themselves back on the surface. Truly, the Lord that she serves is a very childish one.

Annalotte was surprised when she managed to detect something coming from the Dungeon's soul. That's odd, she could clearly sensed the Dungeon's emotion now. Maybe the reason why she didn't noticed it before when she was still inside was because of all the raw power humming from it's walls, blocking everything else out. But now that she's outside of it, she could perceive it fully without anything hampering her.

Annalotte could tell that the Dungeon is starting to feel...downhearted? It's almost as if it's sulking somehow if she guessed right. It's odd because it was perfectly fine mere moments ago. Annalotte really isn't surprise with the fact that the Dungeon could feel emotions. It's alive after all, it's only natural that it could feel just as any living being could. But the question remains, why would the Dungeon be sad?

Annalotte tilted her head in confusion as she starting thinking of a reason why the Dungeon would feel that way. After thinking things through a bit she understood just why now. After all, the only thing she knew that had happened so far was her and her friend leaving the Kiln.

The Firekeeper had an inkling suspicion that the cause of the Dungeon's depressed state might have something to do with the fact that it's father is no longer staying within it's walls and- Oh my. It's a girl. Annalotte really should have noticed that sooner since the Dungeon gave birth to monsters after all.

Oh dear, there's not much Annalotte could do to improve the Dungeon's mood save for dragging her father back to visit the poor thing every once in a while. She has been working hard for a long time to expunged any invaders seeking his resting place after all. For now, she could only hope that the Dungeon would return to normal naturally after it had taken some time to adjust to her father's absence.

Speaking of her wayward Lord, Annalotte believes that she should start looking for him right now if she ever wanted to deliver his Ember to him before he finds himself in some sort of troubling situation...again.

And so, the Firekeeper started searching for any sign of the Soul of Cinder but alarmingly, the familiar soul was nowhere in sight. _'I can't sense him.'_ Annalotte thought in panic as she her eyebrows furrowed in worry. She did another check with her ability to see if she got it wrong but the same result came up. A feeling of dread was slowly making itself know inside her heart as she wondered what had happened.

She could feel many souls around her yet she couldn't sense the one she was looking for. The only thing logical that came to mind is that he was out of range. But her Lord is, or rather was, the only exception to that rule as no matter how far he had gone, it had never stopped her from being able to feel his soul. Her Lord's soul is one of a kind. It's like the sun itself, glaring the darkness away as it announced it's presence and calling forth attention towards itself with relative ease. It's so grossly incandescent that Solaire would choose to revere him if he ever found out. Even if she tried to avoid sensing him, the glow of his soul would still be there, always at the edge of her senses. She could even tell where he was when he went to the literal end of the world.

Why is it that she couldn't do so now?

She had originally thought that she couldn't at first was due to the Dungeon stopping her but now she's not so sure if that's the case anymore.

Was it because he sealed his strength away? No that's not right. By transferring his power into the sword, all he did was weaken his body to the point where it's no different than a normal human's. His soul should still be the same, a fusion of all the other Lord souls from ages past. It is not something that could easily be missed.

Just what had happened in the short time they were separated?

' _Milord, where could thou be?'_ Annalotte thought in concern. That is the most pressing matter right now and being someone who had the pleasure of knowing him for a very long time, she mostly already knew the answer. _'Lost again most likely.'_ The Firekeeper let out an exasperated sighed as she thought of that, not really sure what to feel regarding her friend's inability to even tell left from right. It had been _ages_ and one would think that after that much time, he would've at least learn to recognize landmarks to make finding the way home easier. She has better sense of direction than him and she's blind for Gods' sake.

She could try to look for him on her own but would it actually be possible to locate him among the million of others souls in this city? It would be a challenge, especially now that his soul is no longer easily located. There's also the fact that he may be constantly moving too.

She would have a higher chance on bumping into him if she just went to do her own thing instead of searching. He always have a knack for showing up whenever you weren't expecting him after all. But just what kind of trouble would he get himself into during that time? She still need to deliver the Ember to him just in case he bit off more than he could chew.

She really hope he doesn't go and harass any animals this time around. It was really embarrassing to watch him die due to a piglet when they were in Majula. They both learned that even powerful as he was back then, he's still subjectable to fall damage. They probably wouldn't have known had the piglet never ram itself into the Lord of Cinder and pushing him into the pit while he was leaning over to check it's depths.

"Anna-chan~ What are you doing back there? Come on! Hurry up or we'll leave you behind!" While Annalotte was trying to decide on her next course of action should be, she heard Tiona calling out to her from a distance. She could feel the Amazoness waving at her general direction far from where she was standing.

It would seem that her absence has finally been noticed. Annalotte briefly wondered just how long she had been standing here before she started heading towards where Tiona and her friends were at.

For now, Annalotte suppose that she should just follow the people that had found her since she's clueless as to where to begin looking for her wayward Lord. There's also the need to find lodging for the night if she failed to find him within the day.

It's the best course of action she could think of, especially since she has no reliable knowledge of the world she's in. Besides, her Lord is bound to stir up some rumors that would make locating him easier given time. She'd give him a week tops before she'd meet him again.

 **-0-**

 **Orario- North Main Street**

They had been moving along the bustling street for quite some time now. Annalotte noticed that most, of not all, of the citizens within range were looking at their direction. She could sense the awe coming from the onlookers and the excitement coming from the children that were requesting to be given a lift so they could get a better look at the core members of Loki's Familia.

They seem to be a highly respected group from what she could tell. All the gawking from everyone else cemented that fact for her rather easily.

And of course, Annalotte had no idea what the word Familia meant at first but she eventually gathered enough information to know what it means and what being in one entails by asking said Familia members. From that question alone, everyone in Loki's Familia realized one important thing. Annalotte isn't in anyone's Familia and had never receive a God or Goddess' grace as it's most unlikely that a God or Goddess would neglect explaining that to her if she joined their Familia. That also meant she is not an Adventurer as only people who had receive Falna can register as one.

It raised the question as to how someone who didn't have Falna managed to acquire a skill and why she was in the Dungeon in the first place. It's not completely illegal to enter the Dungeon without gaining a God's grace or registering as an Adventurer per se; it is however, insanely dangerous to do so. Suicidal even.

Thankfully, Annalotte put their question to rest by telling them her skill is self taught and it enables her to sense just where the monsters are so she could avoid them. She did however, neglected to mention just why she was in the Dungeon but no one wanted to pry so they left it at that.

Annalotte had also been asking them a lot of things regarding the city, Familias and all the other things that caught her interest, barely giving them the time to finish explaining things to her before she asked them another question. To put things plainly, she acted like an excited child that had been locked up all her life and was experiencing the world for the first time.

"Do you really not know these things Annalotte?" Riveria asked in astonishment, clearly not expecting the girl that was following them to be completely ignorant to even the most basic of common knowledge that even a child would know. It was made blatantly clear to her early on that Annalotte was not from around these parts just by how she talked and acted alone. But to think that she would lack even the most basic knowledge to get by. No offense to the sweet girl but just what kind of barbaric country did she come from that she doesn't even know Valis is the currency people everywhere are using?

Riveria is already feeling worried for the poor girl as she wondered just how she's going to survive in Orario. For the time being, they've decided to just take her with them to the Twilight Manor to rest before deciding on the next course of action.

Annalotte could only blush slightly in embarrassment as she thought that she may have asked a bit too much. "I'm t'rribly asham'd to admiteth that I don't Alf-san. Hadst t not been f'r Tiona-chan, I wouldst not has't known the nameth of this city if she hadn't toldeth me."

Riveria could only sigh as her worry for the girl grew. Annalotte is a very kind individual, that much she knew during the short time that they had known each other. She really didn't want anyone to take advantage of her due to her lack of common sense. While they were still merely acquaintances at best, Riveria had found her company quite pleasant and wouldn't mind spending more time with her. Also, Tiona had already taken quite a liking to the girl; even more so when she somehow managed to tame Bete like a puppy when he was getting really foul mouthed. She didn't want Tiona to go on a rampage because her new friend was being taken advantage of.

Needless to say, they all rather enjoyed seeing Bete laying on the ground, looking to be in absolute bliss while getting a belly rub from Annalotte.

Tiona had immediately begged Annalotte to teach her how she managed to do that on the spot to which the white haired girl replied with a soft giggle ''Tis simple really, 'tis just liketh playing with Sif.' Riveria had not idea who this Sif is but she assumed that it was a pet animal that Annalotte know of.

"I find it hard to believe that you don't even that you're in Orario Anna-chan." Tiona perked up and commented with a curious glance towards Annalotte after her name was mentioned. She had been staying near the girl after the whole 'treat Bete like a puppy' incident just in case Bete gets really worked up again. That way she could get front row seats to Annalotte calming him down.

So far, there's no such luck for the young Amazoness as the resident werewolf has been keeping his distance from the white haired girl ever since. He's still too embarrassed from the whole ordeal and was trying to be as unnoticeable as possible to avoid further humiliation.

"'Tis quite a frequent problem that I face whenev'r I travel Tiona-chan. After all, 'tis not liketh I can see just wh're I will end up." the blind girl quipped, amusement clearly evident in her voice.

"But why is it that you travel Annalotte-san? Your...condition would certainly make things more difficult for you, not to mention troublesome." Riveria asked, part in concern and part in curiosity.

"Well, 'tis not liketh I has't aught bett'r to doth with mine own timeth, nay? Life is more int'resting for me this way. I can nev'r tell just what wouldst happen while I'm following Milord in his travels. 'Tis quite thrilling actually." Annalotte answered truthfully. It's pretty fun to stick around the Soul of Cinder, especially since things tend to explode a whole lot in his presence. Figuratively and literally.

The girls continued to talk with Annalotte being the one asking the questions. Riveria and Tiona didn't mind answering them for her. The former being that it she could alleviate some of her worries of Annalotte being clueless as she impart some knowledge for the girl while the latter is more or less just happy talking with her.

But during the entire time they talked, Riveria and Tiona both noticed how Annalotte had been in low spirits ever since they left the Dungeon. There were times where she would just fall silent with a worried look on her face and occasionally sighing too.

After thinking about it, Riveria gave Tiona a look that basically said, 'I'll leave it to you' and move away to give them some privacy. Tiona just shot her a look of betrayal as the elf walks to join her pupil who was feeling extremely uncomfortable from the stares filled with respect given by the people in the streets.

With Riveria gone Tiona had no choice but to find out just what is troubling their new companion.

"Ne, Anna-chan, is something wrong?" Tiona finally asked in concern, startling the Firekeeper as she was once again lost in thought.

"Th're is nothing wrong Tiona-chan." Annalotte hurriedly told the Amazoness. Perhaps she told her a bit too hastily because she could feel the doubt emitting from Tiona's soul. The girl didn't believe her for a minute, that much is certain.

"Even though it's only been a while since we've met but I already think of you as a friend. So if there's anything troubling you just tell me. I can't just leave you looking so worried like this you know." Tiona cross her arms and pouted with a serious look in her eyes.

Annalotte's lips quirked upwards upon hearing that as the feeling of joy slowly began to make itself known in her bosom. It has been a while since she made any new friends, especially one as energetic and cheerful as Tiona. Her smile quickly faded as she remember just what had been troubling her all this time and her cheer turned into worry once more as a small sigh escape her lips.

"Ah, there you go again." Tiona pointed out. "If you keep sighing that much you'll turn into an old lady Anna-chan. Come on, I wanna help if I can so don't be afraid to share your worries with me."

Annalotte just gave her a small chuckle at what she had said. If she only knew just how old she really is. But still, can she really just take advantage of her new friend's kindness like this? She still haven't repay them for escorting her out of the dungeon and it just doesn't sit right with her to keep asking for something without giving something back.

As a Firekeeper, she's more used to the notion of mutual concessions and compromise. She would provide a service and strengthen an Undead that seek to link the First Flame and in return, whoever it was that sought her out will venture forth to become stronger and stronger, eventually becoming worthy enough for the linking of the fire.

It's a symbiotic relationship between them. Though there were times where she was taken for granted but it comes with the job so she's pretty much used to it.

It's completely different when it came to her old friend though. He didn't seek strength like the rest of the Undead. Instead, all he wanted was someone to be his traveling buddy, mostly to stop him from going the wrong way. Just what in Gods name possessed him into thinking that taking a blind person along as a guide is a great idea is beyond her. But she's not complaining as the adventures that they went on is always exciting.

And as much as it pains her to admit it, she could only rely on others for their help until she acquire a better understanding of this world. And she's not going getting any closer to finding her Lord if she just wander around aimlessly in the city. Having someone who knows the city's layout to point her in any direction where he was last seen or where crowds of people would often gather would certainly help.

After much consideration, she decided she should tell Tiona just what had been on her mind. Maybe by doing so, it would get her to stop pouting at her. Who knows? She just might have some information for her. "I can't sense him." She finally told the Amazoness.

"Hm? Him?" A look of confusion passes Tiona's face before she understood just who Annalotte was referring to. "Oh! That Jerkish friend of yours."

The name caused Annalotte to smile. Perhaps Tiona and Milord could be friends if they ever met. They both have the similar habit of giving people strange nicknames after all. "Yes, him." Annalotte nodded. "For a while now I have been trying to locateth his position but to no avail."

"How does that skill of yours work? You said that you can sense people and monsters with it then shouldn't you been able to find where Jerk-kun was when you were in the Dungeon?" Tiona asked in innocent curiosity.

"I cannot." Annalotte shook her head sadly. "'Tis most particular really. I findeth that my skill becameth most unreliable while inside the Dungeon. The image that I would normally receive becameth...erratic and the walls themselves seemeth to preventeth me from getting a good grasp outside of it." She explained while not telling her about the fact that the Dungeon's soul was the real reason why she was having trouble with her skill. Annalotte has no idea whether or not the people in this world are aware that the Dungeon is alive or not so she'll avoid saying anything about that for now. "I can't findeth him now either. It's almost liketh he just vanished out of thin air."

"As for the schematics of how my skill w'rks; besides sensing living beings, my skill also allows me to seeth the p'rson as who they truly are." Annalotte continued, earning a confused tilt of a head from Tiona as a question mark pop into existence on top of her head.

Sensing her confusion Annalotte tried to explain to her as best as she could. "I can seeth inside a person's soul Tiona-chan. My skill allows me to get good grasp of their characters, intentions, emotions and many more if I decided to look deep'r. No one can conceal aught from me as I can easily tell wheth'r 'r not someone's lying."

"T-that's actually sounds pretty cool!" Tiona exclaimed, feeling really impressed.

"Cool?" Annalotte echoed with a faint uncertainty in her voice. "My skill doest not produce aught cold from what I can tell."

"That's not what I meant and you know it." Tiona accused as she point a finger at the taller girl with a pout on her face.

"Maybe." Annalotte said teasingly with a small smile before continuing from where she left off. "And as I was saying, with just a glance on the surface of a person's soul, I can tell if that person is kind and compassionate and just so happeneth to enjoyeth teasing others." She gave a glance at the young Amazoness direction, indicating that the person she was talking about was her.

Realizing just who Annalotte was talking about, the tomboyish girl chuckled as she rub the back of her head sheepishly with a light blush on her face as she look anywhere but her.

"Or If they're vile and wicked." Annalotte continued, subtly casting a glance at the few male Adventurers by the side who were sheering at the ever so popular Loki's Familia members or were giving lecherous looks at the female members. Thankfully for them, most of the Familia members didn't care or think that they were worth their time to pay them any attention. "That's why I kneweth thee all art trustworthy and approached thee f'r thy aid. You wouldn't believe how many people out there who would want to taketh advantage of poor blindeth woman like me."

"How do you deal with them then? Those people who tried to take advantage of you." Tiona asked seriously while feeling rather sore that she couldn't do anything about it.

"Nothing." Annalotte replied in a manner of fact tone.

Her answer seem to shock Tiona as she turn her head to look at the white haired girl, completely wide-eyed "Nothing!? Do you just let them do as they please!?"

"Of course not. 'Tis just that I never had the chance to doth aught before Milord hath shown them the error of their ways." Annalotte told her as she smiled at the memories of those times. Her words seem to put Tiona at ease as she let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, I guess Jerk-kun can actually be reliable at least." Tiona nodded to herself, sounding rather unimpressed.

"He looks after his friends Tiona-chan. They're the only ones he hath left to careth about aft'r all." Annalotte told her solemnly, causing the young girl to snap her mouth shut before she could say anything bad about her friend. Tiona really didn't expect to hear that and was feeling quite uneasy now that the mood had suddenly become somber.

Tiona thought that maybe she had judged Annalotte's friend a bit too hastily. But it still doesn't excuse the fact that he forgot all about Annalotte.

Annalotte sensed her friend's unease and choose to swiftly change the subject least they walk in awkward silence for the rest of the way. To where, she doesn't know yet but it wouldn't do for a group to travel in this mood. It'll kill all the joy in the journey if they proceed this way. "While I don't fault him for wanting to protecteth those closest to him but it can be quite tiresome at times"

"Tiresome how?" Tiona asked hesitantly.

"He always act liketh an ov'rprotective fath'r when we're togeth'r. Whenev'r someone did approach to court me, he'd suddenly appeareth right behind them with a weapon pointing at their buttocks all while breathing down promises of pain and suff'ring down their neck if they were to upset me." Annalotte told her with an exaggerated shake of her head and sighing downheartedly, causing Tiona to giggle at how ridiculous that sounded. The mood was indefinitely lighten somewhat thanks to that.

"Then Anna-chan, if you can't tell where he is then do you have any idea where he might go?"

Annalotte purse her lips to the side as she wondered about that herself. Her friend is very whimsical in nature due to the many Lord Souls that resides within him. One moment he would be the kindest individual you'll ever meet and the next, he would be the most cold and calculating killer. It's rather useful when he wanted to get people to lower their guard around him before he strike with a surprise attack.

It's always something to see first hand. One example is when he was confronted with a group of detestable bandits who were demanding his goods. He could talk to them jovially while looking completely harmless and wouldn't hurt a fly before suddenly burrowing his hand inside one of them and immolate them from the inside.

It's always rather interesting to watch how the others would react to their companions sudden combustion.

"Well, I doth knoweth that he hast the tendency to be drawn to places where interesting things wouldst befall on a regular basis. I not sure how much that wouldst help." Annalotte told the girl and Tiona immediately began thinking of all the places she know that may fit the description.

"One of the few places that fits that description is the Dungeon but from what Bete told us, he had already left the place long ago. The rest are scattered all over Orario so we might miss him if we went out to search." Tiona mused as with a dejected look on her face, wondering just how they were suppose to find one person in a city of millions.

"Then I supposeth I just have to search them all." Annalotte said with a tired sigh. Who knows how much time it would take to find him and he probably won't sit still to make things easier for her either.

"Aw, don't be sad Anna-chan. I'll help you look for him, it's a promise." Tiona told her with a grin. "We'll start tomorrow though since we still need to rest from our expedition." Annalotte just smiled and nodded, feeling a lot less worried now that she wouldn't have to look alone; yet at the same time, she couldn't help but feel like she's intruding in their lives. She just hope that she wouldn't inconvenience them too much with her request. Her friend can be quite a hassle after all.

 **-0-**

 **Orario- Random park in West Main Street**

Cinder just lean his head back against the wooden bench that he was sitting on with a grimace on his face. The sword that was normally hanging on his side was resting against the side of the bench he's sitting on.

He was in a park somewhere in the city that Hestia, the child with ridiculous proportioned breast, brought him to as they talked. It's a lovely park really. The greenery is something he never thought he'd miss so much. It's certainly a better view than ruin landscapes and cities that had crumbled under time's decaying influence. Watching the flora seemingly harmonize with the civilization that was build around it bring about a sense admiration within him.

The peaceful atmosphere brought about by the place make it a very soothing place to relax. It's also a great place to have nice long talks, perhaps that's why Hestia took him here in the first place. They certainly did talk for a good long while and it had been a very enlightening conversation to say the least. Also, his estimation of how long he has been in the burning in the Kiln was wrong. Apparently, he had been burning for two thousand years, not one.

He only just realized how long it had been after he asked Hestia how long the Gods and Goddess had been around while she was giving him the basic history of Orario for dummies. Her answer cause him pause and ponder on just how much he had missed while he was gone.

Hestia, the sweet and kind girl, mistook his sudden silence for shock at being unable to comprehend the concept of being alive for so long and explained to him that Gods are immortal so they can't age. Very sweet of her to do so but if there's anyone out there who's the most familiar with the concept of being immortal then it would be Cinder himself. Still, he appreciated the effort she out in trying to help him get through the nonexistent shock.

It was pretty amusing to see how her arms were waving around in panic as she thought he was going into shock. Thankfully, he had the stern discipline of a master fighter on his side to avoid laughing at her panicked state. It's rather rude to do so when her gaze only held concern for him after all. Okay, he lied. Him not laughing had nothing to do with his discipline. Instead, it was because he was too busy trying to comprehend just how the string on her chest could handle all that bouncing from those two juggernauts.

After Hestia calmed down, he asked why they came down from Heaven as he was pretty sure that they had a duty to guide souls to the afterlife. Imagine his surprise when Hestia told him the reason as to why they descended.

Afterwards, they continued their Q and A session until a bunch of children suddenly came up to them, asking to play with Hestia. The young Goddess is apparently very popular with people from what he could tell. Not wanting to disappoint the children, he told her that he needed some time to think and organize the info she had told him. She took it as a sign to excused herself to play with the children for the time being, leaving him to stew on the side with all the information he had acquired so far from the Goddess.

To sum it all up on what he thought about it all, he was disappointed with most of his kids, hence the grimace on his face as he thought about them.

While he's happy that his kids came down to help humanity deal with the Monster threat due to his own incompetence but couldn't they find a better reason for doing so? He's not sure what to feel about the fact that it took them a thousand years before they decided to come down; not to help, but because they were bored and wanted something to do in the Human world.

Bored! They came down only because they were bored!

He's rather proud of those who actually wanted to help but the same can't be said for those who only came down to get rid of their boredom. But he really can't blame them for it because he would most likely seek entertainment himself if he ever felt bored. It seems that children do take after their parents after all.

"I'm a failure as a father." Cinder muttered quietly as he use both his hands to cover his face, trying in vain to hide the shame he's feeling. Then again, what else is he suppose to expect when he literally abandoned them to figure out things on their own mere moments after they were born.

"Whew, those kids sure have a lot of energy." Cinder heard the familiar voice of the young Goddess coming closer to his bench. Cinder slowly lift his hands away from his face and glance at the voice's direction. Hestia was moving towards him with a happy smile on her face as she wipe the sweat off her brow.

"The same can be said for you kiddo." Cinder told her with a smirk as he place his arms on his knees and lean against them with a slouch. He noted how she's the only one who still had the energy to move around while the rest of the children had already worn themselves out and were taking a nap under the shade of a large tree.

"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm at least over a thousand years old. So if anyone who's going to be called kiddo here it's you." The girl pouted indignantly at him. Cinder just snickered at the adorable sight as he compare her to an angry kitten.

"Maybe, maybe not. Who am I to judge?" He told her with a smile. "It'd be a lot more convincing if you were a little taller though." That only serve to make the girl pout harder at what she perceived to be an unfair treatment.

Eventually she stopped and moving over to sit on the empty space next to him. "So what are you planning to do now?" She asked him as she sat down with a plop, her twin-tails swayed along. She turn to face him and her eyes held hints of curiosity in them as she regarded him.

Cinder let out a thoughtful hum as he slouch back against the bench with both hands resting on his stomach and one leg kicked up to rest on his knee. He was utterly relaxed as he thought about his future, something that he never really had to do before. He wondered if it's mostly because shit would always hit the fan before he could and he needed to move quickly to solve it, preferably without making things worst.

Things are different now though. At least he hope it's different. It would suck if he had actually planned out his future only for shit to hit the fan again and he had to abandon his plans. "To be completely honest with you Kami-chan, I have no idea." He told her honestly. "For now though, I think I should give something in return for all your troubles." He told her with a cheerful smile. He can't let good deeds go unrewarded after all. Sadly, he currently have nothing valuable to give on his personal.

He had already clean out his inventory of armors and weapons long ago, not really bothering to carry anything other than the ones he's using. The only thing he had on him right now were miscellaneous items that he never got around to get rid off. They're mostly mosses. Shit ton of mosses that he never used.

He's not sure if it's considered rude to give people mosses for helping one another but he's not going to risk it. He have a lot of rings too but he's hoarding them like a greedy little bugger he is and he's not going to give it to anyone even if he is grateful for their help.

"No no, there's no need for that. I'm happy to be able to help." Hestia told him that with a smile as she wave her arms in front of her.

"Aw don't be like that." Cinder let out while secretly feeling glad that he didn't have to part with anything valuable in his possession. Oh wait, he could at least buy something for her to eat for all her troubles. The stall that she was working at seem to be selling food and he could buy some for himself as well while he's at it. That way, he could see if he can actually taste things now all while rewarding the Goddess for helping him. It's like killing two birds with one lightning spear. "Why don't I treat you to those potato crinamagigs or whatever you call them." He suggested rather eagerly, already imagining how the food would taste.

"They're called Potato croquettes." Hestia corrected him.

"Sure, sure." He dismissed her correction with a wave of his hand, not really caring about that small detail. They could be called Seath's anus for all he care, just as long as they taste good. "How much do they cost anyway." He wondered out loud with a thoughtful look.

"Oh, they cost 40 Valis each." Hestia reflectively answered his question, most likely due to the number of times she was asked that while working at the stall.

Upon hearing her words, Cinder froze and a strange awkward silence descended between them.

Hestia just stared in surprise at how the person she had been talking to suddenly became as still as a rock. She couldn't help but feel confused and worried at his sudden stillness, wondering if it's something she had said. "Ano...are you alright?" She asked in concern, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Huh?" He finally let out as he turn to face her, sounding completely perplexed as their eyes met. Hestia's actions seem to have snapped him out of whatever trance he went into. "Could you repeat that please?" He requested with a trace of panic in his voice.

"Erm, I said it's 40 Valis each." She repeated hesitantly.

"I'm guessing Valis is the currency the people in this country uses?"

"Valis is actually the most common form of currency all over the world." Hestia informed him.

"Not from where I came from it's not." Cinder muttered as he slouched back against the bench with a defeated look on his face.

"Really? What kind of place did you come from that you don't use Valis?" The girl asked curiously as she tilt her head to the side.

"Somewhere very, very far away." Cinder answered cryptically with a smirk, earning an annoyed pout from the girl. But his smirk didn't last long and he he let out a sigh.

"Are you alright?" The twin-tailed Goddess asked again, sounding even more concern than before. Hestia had gotten used to his cheerful demeanor after spending some time with him and it's a little off putting for her to see that him depressed.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine, completely fine." He told her with a wryly laugh. "I just realized that with the change in currency, I'm completely broke now." He's guessing that people don't use souls for currency anymore since there's actually an afterlife for them to go to now. This would be a problem for him. The concept of having no money is alien to him as he usually have a bunch of souls just laying around for him spend. Even if he did ran out he could usually just kill some unfortunate sod nearby and use their soul for the things he wanted to buy. He probably can't do that anymore now can he?

Cinder was surprised when he felt a hand being placed on his shoulder and turn to see who it was. It was Hestia and she gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, giving him an odd sense of comradeship from her as a look of understanding shone in those blue eyes of her, almost as if she knows just what he's going through. It didn't take long for him to connect the dots as to why.

"Ah...I see... you're going through some tough times yourself huh." Cinder commented and Hestia just nodded. There was no need for words. They understood each others plight well enough to know that words are meaningless in this situation. What they need is money and words certainly wouldn't bring anything to the table unless they're a conman or a politician. They're basically the same thing though.

And just like that, friendship between the Primordial Lord and the young Goddess was born due to poverty.

Cinder place his hand gently on top of the girl's head and pats her like all her customers at her stall did. "Well, I guess I'll just have to owe you one." He said, mentally making note to repay her one day before slipping into deep thought. He starting thinking on how to deal with his money problem with his hand was still patting Hestia like he's praising Sif for doing a neat trick.

As his hand ruffled the Goddess' hair, Hestia couldn't help but feel content. She didn't know how to describe it but it felt like something that she had been missing all her life, almost like a sort of longing for something. She couldn't figure out what it is no matter how hard she thought about it.

Unable to pinpoint just exactly why she felt this way, Hestia opted to just enjoy the moment with happy giggles escaping her lips. And when Cinder finally stopped, she couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"I suppose I should start figuring out what to do now. Orario is a pretty big place from what I can tell so I suppose there should be plenty of opportunity for something to happen if I were to wander around. Gods know that they usually do." Cinder muttered the last part to himself as he pushed himself up from the bench and stretched his limbs. He quickly grabbed his sword and hooked it to his hips before preparing to leave. "See you around Kami-chan. I'll treat you to something once I have some money." He gave one last ruffled on her head before turning away, giving her a warm smile.

As his turn to leave, Hestia couldn't help but feel... dejected. Every since she met him she's been getting the feeling of nostalgia just by being in his presence. It's odd really, she felt like she should know him but don't. Heck, she doesn't even know his name yet. Just by watching him leave made her feel like he's abandoning her again. No, that's not right. She's fairly certain that this is the first time that they had met but why does she feel like this had happened before.

Her eyes continue to linger on his back as her thoughts turn away from the strange person to her only member in her Familia.

That child, he's probably working hard in the Dungeon right now. Would Bell leave her the same way as the young man before her? The thought alone scares her but she knows him well enough to understand that something like that won't happen. Bell's just too kind to just outright abandon her for another Familia just because she's a rookie Goddess. She usually feels guilty to burden him with so much and even more so when he returns hurt and tired after a long day in the Dungeon.

Her thoughts a took a turn for the worse as she began worrying about his safety. What if something happened to him in the Dungeon? There's always a chance for something unexpected to happen in that place. Maybe Bell would slip while in a middle of a fight or maybe he would accidentally rushed into a horde while chasing a monster and was overwhelmed by their numbers. There are just so many things that could happen to him while he's in the Dungeon and while Bell had been lucky so far to get out with only scrapes and bruises, it's only a matter of time before his luck ran out. Will she be all alone again if that happen?

If only she could find someone willing to join her Familia. If there was someone by her child's side then the chances of them coming back home will indefinitely be higher. They could both look out for each other and keep themselves safe. So far, no one had wanted to join as she isn't a really well known Goddess and it's really troubling for the her.

Then, just as she was watching him leave, she noticed something. Perhaps it's just the lights playing tricks on her eyes because she knew it just wasn't likely. Somehow, when she was looking at the retreating form of the person who felt so familiar yet so foreign at the same time, she saw her only child's figure walking side by side with him. They both looked ready to head unto lands unknown even to her, ready to face whatever challenges ahead of them.

That sight alone cemented the decision she was about to make.

Maybe, just maybe, he might be a great partner for Bell and the much needed addition to her Familia that will ease her ever growing worry and lessen some of Bell's burden.

With that, Hestia hopped off the bench and called out to him.

"W- wait!"

 **-0-**

 **Dungeon- Kiln Of The First Flame**

The Kiln is nothing more than a desolated landscape, stretching far and wide completely and blanketed in ashes. The land looks like what's left of a battlefield, fought not by mere men but by monsters wielding incomprehensible strength, cladded in the form of a human; each one capable of bringing down the Gods of yore through might alone.

Weapons of all kind, belonging to those who had fought here were scattered and imbedded into the ground to mark where their wielders had fallen. They were old and broken, degraded severely throughout the passage of time and could do nothing more than rust away.

But amidst the vast collection of broken weaponry, only a few remained in pristine condition. One can tell that they were treated quite differently from the others in the lifeless field as they were placed near the center of the Kiln while the rest were simply scattered around the edges. Among those weapons near the center, only three were arranged in a semi-circle surrounding the bonfire that had a large coiled sword rooted deep within it. The coiled sword was extruding a gentle flame that flickers and dances in the air, illuminating it's surroundings with a faint glow.

Those three weapons serves as gravestones as well as mementos of the old Cinder's prominent companions. They were the ones that accompanied him through thick and thin during his earliest adventures before he rose to power. They were ones the old Lord would trust unconditionally and would leap to their defense regardless of the odds they face.

Those three weapons were: a straight sword that radiates divinity; a gigantic two handed sword that could easily sent foes flying due to it's immense weight; and a sword that felt just like the sun itself, emitting the gentle warmth of sunlight with it's very presence.

They were also the current subject of study for a certain little lady as she scrunched her amber coloured eyes to examine every little detail on the weapons. She raises her hand towards the sword that was emitting a holy aura around it, intending to trace the flat side of the blade with her fingers. But she stopped short, quite literally, as her hand couldn't reach the blade from where she stood because she thought her arm was longer than it actually is...again.

She lift her barely scaled hand to her face and stare at it, taking in how small they were now. She was reminded yet again that she's not a big as she used to be...not that she was very big to begin with in the first place. Apparently, she had somehow become younger than she was before and thus, she currently looked like a child that's barely six years old rather than ten.

Seeing the state of her body again, she couldn't help but complain at how unfair fate was to her. She wanted to grow taller not shorter darn it!

Feeling dejected about her decrease in height, the little girl abandoned what she was initially doing without a second thought and began walking away from the swords with a sulky expression on her face. As she walked along the ashed covered ground of the Kiln, she left behind a set of tiny footprints before it was brush away by her long, white hair that was being dragged along the ground.

As she walked, she started thinking about the cause of her body shrinking. She recalled that father did say that there might be some random side effects when he did what he did but she would've never thought it would make her younger. Why couldn't it be the opposite instead?

She really shouldn't think about it too much, it'll only make her sadder.

And so, in effort as to think of something else that isn't related to her now chibified body, she took another look around the Kiln.

Originally, when she had gotten out of the painting, the first thing she had noticed was that the Kiln was empty. It's not surprising since a lot of time had passed since father linked the flame and wrapped reality to his liking. He basically made reality his bitch back then hadn't he? She really can't tell how much time had passed since no one in the painting was keeping track.

The second thing was a set of footprints by the painting that lead towards the edge of the Kiln. Feeling curious, she had followed the footprints to a strange looking circle at the edge and found that there was another set of footprints heading there.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out whose footprints they belong to since her father and big sis Annalotte were the only one who would stay behind until the end. The former because he couldn't move and the latter because it's her duty to tend to the flame.

She easily deducted that the two had somehow used the strange looking circle to leave the Kiln as there was no way big sis Annalotte could open those extremely large doors that are basically stone slabs in the shape of one.

And of course, seeing a way out of this place caused her to be extremely excited about experience a brand new world that she could study for her paintings. Out of all the things she could've inherit from her father it had to be his sense of adventure. But unlike her father, she's not one to rush into things unprepared; something she should thank her mother for.

And so, she decided to postpone leaving the Kiln and head back into the painting to gather whatever supplies she may need so she would be prepared for whatever might be out there.

Sadly, just like her father, she gets easily distracted by the little things unless she's painting, hence the reason why she's studying the blades near the coiled sword instead of heading back into the painting to prepare for her grand adventure. And in the end, she had forgotten what she wanted to do and is just wandering around the Kiln, marveled at how different it looked now.

She remember how everyone had gathered around the Kiln to witness the linking of the fire, thinking that they would get to see the real thing in person only for father to pull a fast one on everyone and did something else instead. But now, now it's so empty. The Kiln is more akin to a graveyard than what it was before. All the weapons imbedded in the ground only serve to reinforce that image. To be honest, she felt rather sad to see it this way.

Suddenly, she let out a yawn and felt her eyelids drooping. It hasn't been that long since she got out of the painting and yet she felt so drowsy already. All that wandering might've been the cause of her tiredness and she blame the child like body having so little energy to spent. She understood that trying to explore a new place while feeling so tired is generally not a good idea as she could fall asleep at any time.

Truly, having a body like this really put a limit on the things she could do. And as much as she hates to admit it, it would seem that a nap is necessary if she wanted to avoid that.

Unable to continue moving around due to her sleepiness, the child slowly crawl towards the large coiled sword in the middle of the Kiln. For reasons unknown to her, the sword had been emitting a presence that felt just like her father. In her groggy state, she didn't think too much about it and just wobbled towards the blade. She didn't know why she had done so but by being near it, it made her feel like she's by her father's side. It made her feel safe, just like how father would always wrap a protective arm around her while she slept on his lap by the bonfires.

The little girl lay down on her side against the soft, ash covered floor near the bonfire, feeling completely warm and comfortable as she closed her eyes. It didn't take long for sleep to claim her.

Just as her conscious was drifting off, she had a hopeful thought that maybe, just maybe, father would come back to pick her up. They could go exploring like they used to, with her sitting on his shoulders and taking in the sights with childish glee.

And so, the Kiln was once more silent as the little girl fell into deep slumber, only interrupted by the crackling of the fire and the faint snores coming from the girl.

As fast asleep as she was, she never noticed faint glows coming from the swords surrounding the bonfire as Summon signs started appearing before them. She was completely unaware of the presence of multiple phantoms of white and gold, slowly arising from their graves as well. The phantoms took up their arms and moved silently to surround the bonfire, a feat that's no about surprising considering the heavy armors that they wore.

They all stood at attention, shields raised and weapons poised with their backs to the little girl slumbering in the center. They need not speak for they understood their duty to safeguard this place as the last means of defense against intruders. That is their promise to the one who they owed their service to a long, long time ago. But now, it would seem that there is another thing that they must do in addition to their original task but it's of no concern to them; they will protect the Kiln as well as the child in her father's absence.

It's only natural for guardians to protect after all.

 **-0-**

 **AN: Well, if anyone in Danmachi verse did manage to make their way to the Kiln...let's just say there will be a very big welcoming committee there to greet them.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading this chapter and I hope you'll leave a review on what you think. I might not reply to them but I sure as hell enjoy reading them.**

 **Also, as to why I said this fic won't be updated for some time, I was thinking that I should focus on my other fics for now. Gods know that I've been neglecting them for a long time now.**

 **On the side note, I revisited the old chapters of this fic. I did some editing to glaring errors that I should've noticed in the first place but didn't and change a few things here and there. The changes aren't really important enough to warrant another read through and if you read something that didn't match what you've read before in the future chapters, just roll with it. But if re-reading them is what you want to do, I'm not stopping you.**

 **If there are still errors, please point them out for me because I'm not very thorough when I do things. Might be because I'm lazy.**

 **I'll put up a small list of things just in case you wanted to know but is too lazy to read the previous chapters again. Please note that it's not everything but enough to prevent future confusions.**

 **1: Cinder's eye colour changed to Amber to match the Painter's**

 **2: Cinder and the Painter are actually related and how it came to be probably won't be elaborated until the painter reached the surface and met up with him.**

 **3: Cinder's sword is now just an unupgraded straight sword because having a titanite reinforced sword might be a bit too much as they could be used to slay Gods in their full power.**

 **PS: Anyone got a name for the Painting girl? I'm seriously having trouble coming up with one for her. I'd call her Aria but Aiz's mother is also called that so I'd rather avoid the confusion when she introduce herself.**


	5. Chapter 4: Day 1(Final)

**AN: Someone pointed out that the Shakespeare translation made Annalotte Dialogue very tedious to read through so I'm going to stop using it. To those who had struggled with reading Annalotte's dialogues from the last chapter, I'm very sorry about that. I swear it won't happen again….much.**

 **As for the slow pacing and plot development...I'll see what I can do. No promises.**

 **-0-**

 **Chapter 4: Day 1 (Final)**

 **-0-**

 **Guild- A Small Room**

Meanwhile, while Cinder was undergoing a Q and A session with Hestia; Bell, A.K.A Rabbit boy, A.K.A Hestia's sole Familia member, was being scolded by his adviser for barging into the guild while being completely covered in blood. Right after Bell had done the aforementioned act, Eina Tulle, Bell's Adviser, almost had a heart attack upon witnessing the tomato monster charging towards her booth while asking for information about Aiz.

Eina is a half Elf and like her counterparts, she have pointy ears and beautiful features. The young woman currently dons the Guild uniform that fits perfectly on her slim figure. The uniform consists of a black vest and pants with a white collared long sleeve shirt underneath and a grey bow tie. She has shoulder length brown hair that has a beautiful sheen and clear emerald colored eyes that hid behind a pair of spectacles.

Eyes' that are currently staring disapprovingly at the young man before her.

The white haired young boy who's sitting in front of her is clean now for after being forced to take shower, something Eina is grateful for as she didn't have to bare with the smell of blood any longer than necessary. They were both seated facing each other, separated by a small table in the middle. Bell currently has his head lowered as he tries to shrink as small as possible with tears slowly emerging from the edges of his eyes.

Seeing him looking so adora- she meant regretful, yes regretful, for his actions earlier, she decided to let it go and her stern visage softens. He's only been an Adventurer for half a month after all, surely she could cut him some slack and let him off with just a warning. It had nothing to do with the fact that he's about to cry if she kept it up, no, no at all.

"Well, I suppose there's not much that could be done now. Just remember to pay better attention next time, okay?" Eina gave him a wry smile as she told him that, earning a very quick and large nod from the boy.

The half-elf nodded in satisfactory at that and readjust her spectacles before getting to the reason why they were here, the one besides scolding Bell for walking around like a walking period. "Well then, the next thing in order is the information that you've requested about Aiz Wallenstein right? May I know just why you wanted to information about the Sword Princess Bell-kun?"

Bell's face flushed a healthy shade of red before he started explaining just what happened to him while he was in the Dungeon. He told her just how he had rushed down into the fifth floor from the floor he usually frequents and encountered a Minotaur that was chasing after an Adventurer.

Upon hearing how he had blatantly ignored her warnings about taking risks and going beyond the floor he's authorized for, Eina's facial features became somewhat stiff and her eye twitched. It should also be noted that the only floor level that Bell has clearance to go into but no further is the second floor, something that he seem to had ignored entirely even though she reminded him all the time. But her displeasure quickly turn to worry when she heard about the Minotaur part and the Adventurer it's chasing.

The first thing that came to her mind was where did the Minotaur came from and the second is whether or not it was a Pass Parade. If she had to explain what it is on the simplest terms; a Pass Parade of one party or just a single Adventurer drawing a bunch of monsters attention, either on purpose or by accident. Then they would run towards another party of Adventurers so the monsters would notice them too and get away while the monsters' attention were focused on them.

The unlucky party that had a parade of monsters passed onto them would almost always had to fight their way out if they couldn't get away fast enough. Unless they were high level Adventurers, chances of them dealing with the situation without a scratch would be very low indeed. And if by chance the low level party managed to defeat all the monsters, they would no doubt be exhausted, leaving them as easy prey for the party that lead the monsters to them.

Eina let some of the tension in her body fade when she remembered that Bell's still here and apparently safe from harm. That meant that the Pass Parade didn't happen or Bell somehow managed to get away. Either way, Eina quickly snapped herself out of her thought and focused on listening to Bell's tale.

Then he told her about how said Adventurer tried to save him by dragging him away form the Minotaur while he was frozen in shock. But they both were forced into a dead end while trying to escape. Bell told her that he had almost given up all hope had it not been for the other Adventurer encouraging him to fight to survive.

Just when they were about to engage the Minotaur, they were saved by Aiz when she appeared behind the monster and slayed it. Eina noticed that when he mentioned Aiz, his eyes were shinning with admiration and his face had a healthy red hue onto as he gaze into the distance with a dreamy expression on his face. Eina couldn't help but point out that Bell looked like a lovestruck boy.

Bell ashamedly admit that he wasn't thinking very clearly and the instant he saw Aiz reached out her hand, his mind went blank and he could feel a swelling sense of shame and nervousness rising in his heart for no reason at all. It confused him greatly and without thinking about it, he just ran away from his savior at full speed.

"W-well, if I know more about her then maybe I could get her something she likes and thank her properly." Bell shuttered with a flustered expression as he told her that.

Oh ho, so that's why he wanted to know more about her. Eina's eyes twinkled when she understood just why her charge barged into the guild uncaring of his appearances and asked about a girl. But that twinkle soon die when she remembered just what he had done to get himself into that position in the first place.

"Well, the story you told me certainly is interesting but I think we should get the most important thing out of the way first. Bell." She called his name with a very sweet smiled on her face with her eyes closed.

"Ano...yes?" Bell meekly replied. He didn't know why but his still developing six sense was telling him that something was off about his Adviser. The usual easy to approach atmosphere that she normally has was absent from her as she slowly leans forward with the eerie smile still on her face.

Once she was close enough, her eyes opened and Bell saw anger behind those emerald eyes of hers and the smile was no longer in place, replaced with a very scary glare. "Not only did you enter the Dungeon by yourself, you've also stubbornly went to the lower floors! Haven't I told you many times already!? Taking risks is absolutely, ABSOLUTELY, not allowed!" She began to rant as she pointed a finger at him. Said finger was placed so close that it almost touched his nose, causing the white haired boy to shrink further in his seat to avoid it as a guilty look surfaced on his face.

Eina felt somewhat regretful when she saw how Bell looked since she was the cause but she pushed the feeling back and reminded herself that she needed to be firm and strict with the young Adventurer. After all, for newcomers like him, her warning is something he always need to bear in mind because that's the stage where death occurs the most in an Adventurers career. She didn't want anything to happen to him because he got careless in the Dungeon.

Eina sat back against her chair and took in a nice, long breath before releasing it to calm herself down. "Really, you always seem to have some sort of fantasy regarding the Dungeon. Next time you might not be so lucky to survive if you ever encounter another Minotaur." She told him and his only response was to give her a sheepish laugh.

A glare from her silent that laugh, making him look down at the ground with regret. "I-I'm really sorry." He apologized quickly.

Eina shook her head to get rid of the thought of him dying to gruesome death and a small smile on her face, feeling satisfied that at least he's really thinking about her warning now. The encounter he had with the Minotaur would surely cemented it in his mind. "Since you seem to be truly reflecting on it now rather than just listening it with one ear and pouring it out on the other, I suppose I'll forgive you." At that, Bell gave a sigh of relief. "Now then, about Aiz..." When Eina mentioned the Sword Princess' name Bell's expression immediately light up and Eina couldn't help but compare his excited look to a puppy being shown a treat.

"I'm sorry Bell but as a member of the Guild, I cannot leak any information about other Adventurers..." Eina told him with a hint of regret. Bell's immediate reaction was to treat the news like she had just told him that his pet puppy just died as he look at her in despair. "...but I can tell you what's already common knowledge about her." Eina continued after a slight and dramatic pause, causing Bell to beamed up again at the prospect of being able to learn something about the woman he has a crush on. A very big crush if how he's reacting was anything to go by.

And so, Eina picked up a piece of paper on the table that contains the basic information about Aiz and began reciting to him what was generally well known about the Sword Princess. She told him things like Aiz's superb swordsmanship; how she mowed down a large group of LV. 5 monsters on her own and most importantly, how she managed to break the record of 1000 failed courtships.

As she told him all of that, the half-elf couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor boy as she knew that Aiz is way out of his league. She might have dropped the part where Aiz broke the record of 1000 failed courtships on purpose to discourage him so he wouldn't have his heart broken when he tried confessing to Aiz.

"Well, that's about it, the rest is just information about her appearance and what she wears." Eina concluded as she put the paper down.

"B-but aren't those only things from the perspective of other Adventurers? What about her hobbies or favorite food and all the other things that you didn't say." Bell hurriedly asked in a timid voice when he realised that the information Eina gave him weren't a lot and most of which were information that he had unknowingly acquired after spending time in Orario and listening to other Adventurers gossip.

Eina's eyes just twinkle again after hearing how badly Bell wanted to know more about Aiz and decided to tease him a little bit. "Oh ho? For you to want to know about a girl so badly. Could it be that Bell-kun had fallen in love with Wallenstein?"

Bell sputtered denials and blushed even redder than he already was, something Eina admit that's quite enjoyable to watch as she smiled widely at the sight. "...Yes." He finally admitted shyly after he managed to calm down somewhat.

"I don't blame you Bell. Even as someone from the same gender, I would sometimes freeze and my heart would skip a beat when I see her." Eina told him honestly and the boy look rather unsure of what to do with that information. Oh well, she suppose it's time to just throw him the bone. "The good news is, she's currently not dating anyone."

Upon hearing the news, Bell did a fist pump and smiled brightly. "About her hobbies however… there's not much I can tell you since no one really knows what she's into except for training. Also, I'd like to point out that this entire thing is unrelated to my service and I'm not a love expert."

"Thanks a lot Eina-san." Bell nodded and thanked her gratefully and Eina just smiled before moving onto the next thing in mind with a much more concerning expression on her face as she place the paper in her hand down on the table and readjust her sitting position so that she's sitting straight.

"Now then, with that out of the way let's get to the next topic, more specifically, the male Adventurer that dragged you away from danger in the fifth floor."

"Ah, okay." Bell nodded as he regarded her seriously, his mind thinking back to the time where his stood his ground in front of him without any fear nor care in the world as a raging Minotaur was charging right at them. He even offer words of encouragement for him to get back on his feet and fight against an impossible foe too. Bell honestly thought he looked very cool back then.

"You'll need to thank him for saving you as well if you ever met him again. It's only right for you to do so after all, seeing that he put himself at risk by trying to save you." Eina informed him and Bell nodded in agreement, thinking that he probably wouldn't have lived long enough to be saved by the Sword Princess if he never pulled him out of the way.

"I might be able to track him down for you to give you apology to in person but for that, I'll need to know more about him to find him. It's going to be a tough one since that we don't even know his name. So is there anything else you can tell me about him for me to start with? For example, his appearance or anything of note that stood out that could make my job easier?"

"W-well, the lighting wasn't that good in the Dungeon so I can't get a good look at him at the time but I do know he has white hair like I do." Bell told her with a bit of uncertainty in his voice as he wasn't quite sure of his answer. "Other than that, I don't really know. Sorry." He apologized meekly as he prod his fingers together.

Eina just sighed and lean back against her chair. She knew that it's not going to be easy to find out who this Adventurer is considering the ungodly amount of Adventurers that exist in Orario alone. She'd need to search the entire database for a single person base on appearance alone and that could take a very long while. If only Bell knew his name, that will make the entire thing easier by narrowing down the entire list of Adventurer to only those who share the same name of his rescuer. Oh well, she can't complain now. The only good news is that people with white hair aren't that common so it should at least narrow down some of the suspects.

"It's alright Bell, I suppose that will have to do. Well then I suppose we should wrap this up. Do you want have any plans to exchange your loot for Gold before you leave?"

"Yes, I've managed to defeat some monsters before encountering the Minotaur so I have some loot with me."

"Alright then, I'll go with you to the Gold Exchange."

 **-0-**

After Bell had acquired his hard earned money for the day, he decided that he should go home for the day and Eina choose to accompany him to the entrance. Just as Bell was about to leave, Eina stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. The young boy turned around to face his Adviser with a confused look on his face.

"Yes? What is it Eina-san?"

Eina was rather hesitant about what she's going to say to, mainly because she had no idea if giving her charge a boost in confidence in chasing after a woman way out of his league is a good idea or not. She's feeling very awkward right now since this would probably be her first time encouraging someone in pursuing a relationship. She didn't even know the first thing about falling in love so she's not sure if she'd be qualified to give him any advices at all. But after a short while, she decided to just say it. What kind of friend would she be if she didn't at least encourage him a bit.

She began by coughing into her fist with a light blush on her face. "You know, women generally thinks that a strong and reliable male has more charm and appeal to them….so...if you keep working hard, then maybe Wallenstein might notice you?"

Upon hearing her words, the white haired rabbit lifted his head and stare at Eina. His mind seem to be processing her words as the cogs inside his brain spins. It hasn't even been a few seconds before he gave her a big and wide smile and he turned around and ran straight out the Guild.

Eina watched him go in surprise, clearly not expecting him to just bolt out the door like that. He stopped a few feet away from the entrance and spun around to look at her, the smile of his is still on his face and quite possibly brighter than before. "Eina, I love you!" He suddenly shouted.

His words were then followed by a very flabbergasted 'EH!?' from said half-elf as she was stunned by his declaration. "Thank you!" He shouted to her before running off again, leaving behind the blushing elf at the entrance.

 **-0-**

 **Orario- Abandon Church In West Main Street**

Bell was standing in front of a very old building.

The building that he was standing in front of wasn't any old building. It is a very old building that he called his home for the past half month.

It's also broken down church that looked just about ready to collapse by the way.

The building that he now inhibited is one that was once used to pay respects to Gods but as it stands, it's almost completely a wreck and not really fit for anyone to live in. When he first laid eyes upon this building, he couldn't help but think that this place gone through many years of hardship and has completely disappeared from the memories of the people living in this area.

His eyes gazed upwards and there he saw a statue of a goddess at the top of the front entrance. It's body was tattered and half her face missing but he could see that it was smiling down at him. He had to admit, it was very creepy when he first saw it. There were also times where he thought he had heard voices coming from it. It actually made him wonder whether or not his home was haunted during the first couple of days he lived here.

But now, whenever he laid eyes on it after a hard day of work, it almost felt like a close friend was welcoming him home… just as long as he ignore the voices asking for his soul.

At any rate, the rundown building wasn't the place that he sleeps in because it would be very unsafe and not to mention very unhygienic. There's no front door to the building at all, dense weeds had grown on the ground and most of the ceiling had already collapsed to the point where there might as well not be any ceiling at all.

He's pretty sure not even a homeless person would choose this place to sleep for the night.

Anyway, there's a hidden ladder behind one of the bookshelves within the church that leads to an underground basement that had been renovated so it's more or less an underground house now. It's rather small and only had room for one bed but it's home to him nonetheless.

The white haired male moved into the building and climbed down said ladder carefully. He found himself standing in front of a door once he reached the end. Bell noticed that the door was left slightly ajar with a tiny gap and from the small window on the door, he could see light protruding from it, indicating that someone is present inside.

'Ah, Kami-sama also came back early as well.' Bell thought happily. After what happened today, there's just so much he wanted to tell his Goddess. He wondered what her reaction would be after he told her everything. Bell hesitated to open the door when he realize that she'd probably mad that he didn't listen to his adviser and rushed into the lower floors.

He debated for a while on whether or not he should enter and finally came to a conclusion that it's best to just face the music now rather than dragging it on. His Goddess would discover the truth eventually if he tried to hide it from her and that would only make her more mad and gave her more time to think of a more, creative punishments.

And so, Bell took a deep breath to brace himself for the inevitable scolding he's about to receive and bravely walk towards the door and pushed it open. "I'm ho...me?" He called out as the door swung open. Instead of seeing the comfy living room that he had grown fond of or the sight of a buxomness twin-tailed loli coming to greet him, all he saw was some kind of black leather hanging in front of him, blocking from viewing the inside of his home.

It took him a few seconds to realize that what he's looking at was a coat of some kind. Then it took almost no time at all for him to realize that it meant that someone is standing in front of him.

"Yo, if it isn't the genderless child." Bell heard a familiar voice said in greeting and his head slowly tilt upwards to see someone he didn't think he would met again so soon.

"Ah! You're the guy that saved me in the Dungeon." Bell exclaimed and pointed a finger at him as he took a step back from the male standing in the doorway.

With some distance between them, Bell could finally get a good look at the one who helped him in the Dungeon.

Seeing his face for the first time without any dim lighting and hood shadowing his features, Bell couldn't help but note that he looked rather young rather then the rough looking burly man that he had envisioned when he first met him. To be fair, he was panicking while his life was flashing before his eyes and he was mostly looking at the Minotaur instead of the one trying to help him. His hair was white and short just as he remembered, not to mention a bit spiky and his eyes were amber in colour.

The male before him stood a full head taller than him and wearing a very old looking overall coat with a hood attached to it that's, if he guessed right, completely made out of leather; his gloves and pants seem to be made out of the same material as well. There were thin metal plating stitched on the back side of the gloves with leather vambraces tightly secured around his forearms. There were metal plating covering his knees and the tip of his boots as well. What's most notable on him aside from his gear is that he's wearing some kind of pink fabric tied around his neck that deeply contrast with the rest of his clothing and is mostly hidden by his collar and hood attachment.

At first glance, he thought that the male before him was just wearing black clothing but now that he's studying it properly, it appears that it wasn't the case. It's black because it was charred and covered in charcoal residue, like he had walked through a raging fire in those clothes before. Bell wondered if he actually did that or not because if he did, then his clothes somehow miraculously remained in good condition save for the blacken surface.

"Wait, why are you here? Rather, how did you find this place?" Bell asked the first question that pop into his mind when the surprise of seeing him again wears off.

The male look at him with a smiled and raise an eyebrow, his body was completely relaxed as he lean against the door frame with his arms crossed. Just by looking at him, Bell couldn't help but feel that he's not capable of hurting anyone as he looked so harmless and unassuming. He seem to give off some sort of disarming aura around him that made Bell rather relaxed in his presence.

"Aw shucks, is that really the way to greet someone who helped you when your life was in danger?" He told him with a cheeky smile.

Bell just blushes in embarrassment for his behavior and rub the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "Right, sorry." Then he remembered something important that he had to do, something he should've done when he saw him just now. "I still haven't thank you for saving me in the Dungeon earlier so thank you very much for saving my life. I promise that I'll find a way to pay you back somehow." He told him with a very deep bow and a face full of determination. Somehow, one way or another, he needed to pay back the debt to him for extending his lifespan.

"Oh, no need to thank me. I'm just doing what every honorable traveler would to when he encounter someone in trouble and it's definitely not because I think you life is going to be filled with comedic events that's no doubt going to be very entertaining and I just saved you so I could watch them all with front row seats to it." He answered him back rapidly with a string of words that slurred together so quick that he couldn't catch the latter half of what he said.

"Huh?" Bell let out in confusion as he straighten himself and stare at him with a confused gaze. As Bell looked into his eyes, he wondered if he was seeing things or if it's just the trick of the light but he thinks he could see something flickering beneath those iris of his. But he quickly dismissed it once the other male started to speak again.

"Oh crap, did I say that part out loud? Anyway, nice to see that you're fine after what happened in the Dungeon. It's quite worrying since you just ran off after that nice, beautiful lady just saved us. You'll need to thank her instead of me since she's the one who actually did all the saving." He hurriedly changed the subject with a grin.

Bell blushed and look down when he mentioned Aiz. When his eyes were taken off the male in front of him, he missed just how wide and full of mischief the other male's smile had gotten he saw Bell blushing at the mention of the lady savior of his. If he did then he'd probably get a chill crawling down his spine at the foreboding feeling the mischievous smile of his was giving off. That smile of his quickly disappeared and was replaced with an amused look as Bell look back up once he got his blushing under controlled.

"R-right, I know that. I'll thank her the first chance I get." Bell told him bashfully. "Erm, If it's alright, may I know your name?"

"Ah, where are my manners. It completely slipped my mind." His savior push himself off the door frame and place a hand on his chest as he did a very dignified bow. Bell couldn't help but think that his movements were very fluid and graceful; the way he moved almost seem to flow smoothly, like water in a stream. "My name is Cinder, traveler from a faraway land who had just arrived at Orario today." He straighten himself and gesture at him. "Now then, if I remember correctly, it's only polite for you to introduce yourself back...unless that particular rule of etiquette had die off at some point over the years and I didn't know about it. It has been a rather long time since I had to integrate back into society so I may be a bit outdated on things like that."

Bell briefly wondered why he meant by integrating back into society but choose not to think about it too much. "Ah, I'm Bell Cranel." Bell quickly introduce himself to Cinder. "Ne, Cinder-san, if it isn't too much to ask… what are you doing here?"

Cinder just smile and replied. "Not much, all I did was help someone kidnapped a poor helpless and not to mention very busty Goddess when no one's around."

"Ah, I see- wait _WHAT_!?" Bell shouted, utterly shocked at what he'd just heard from the man that he was having a pleasant conversation with just before.

"And if you ever want to see her again, you have to strip right here and now." He continued, not giving Bell the precious time he needed to properly process what he heard before another bout of disbelief hit him.

"What!?" Bell could only repeat what he had shouted before, only this time he didn't shout as his eyes widen considerably in horror and his face flush in embarrassment and anger at the demand that he was given and the knowledge that a very important person in his life is now in trouble. He was about to ready himself for combat when Cinder spoke once more.

"Oh, and do a sexy dance while you're at it." Cinder added as an afterthought.

When faced with such absurdity of it all, Bell really couldn't help but repeat himself again like a broken record. It's mainly because he couldn't think of anything else to say in this situation. "What?"

Before Cider could add any more ridiculous demands, Bell's eyes caught something flying with great speed from inside the room to the point where it was only a blur to him. Said blurred projectile collided with Cinder's head with a soft thud and knocked him down to the ground with the force of a freight train. Bell could only watch as Cinder's face effectively met the floor with a grunt and a cushion that Bell recognize as the one from the living room sofa landed right next to the downed male.

As he stared at the soft, cotton-filled bag, rabbit boy wondered in awe as he tried to figure out how could such a simple cushion that he was so used to seeing do so much damage to a person.

"Just what in the world are you making my child do!?" a familiar and feminine voice shouted irately from inside the house and within seconds, a twin-tailed, petite little girl stood at where Cinder once did with an annoyed look on her face with her hands on her hips. "Seriously, I left to make tea for one minute and then this happened."

"Kami-sama! You're alright!" Bell called out to her as relief flooded his being when he saw his Goddess was safe and sound. The tension in his body rapidly evaporated and his shoulder shagged in relief. The raven haired woman that appeared from inside the house was non other than Lady Hestia, his Goddess that Cinder had claim to have kidnapped.

"Huh? Of course I'm alright Bell-kun." She replied to him with a slight confuse tilt of her head, wondering just what has gotten into her child. She dismissed his odd behavior for now in favor of reprimanding the other white haired male in her sight. She turn her gaze back to the downed male with a disapproving frown on her cute face. "And you! What do you have to say for yourself? I was gone for barely a minute and when I returned, the first thing I found was you demanding my child to strip in front of you."

"Well, how else am I suppose to figure out whether or not this dude is actually a dude." Cinder explained with a look on his face that practically said he has no regrets and was completely justified for what he did as he pat Bell on the shoulder. Bell jumped away in shock, completely surprise that Cinder had already stood back up and had gotten so close to him without him knowing.

Then he realized what Cinder has said about him. "I thought I already told you that I'm a man." Bell whined pitifully as he felt sharp stabs in his heart when his masculinity is being repeatedly questioned.

"So you say. But I knew a guy that thought he was a girl for most his life since he was raised as one. Maybe that's the same case for you Bell-chan. Maybe you think you're a guy but in reality, you're actually a girl. The only way to find out is for you to strip." Cinder suggested, rubbing his chin as he narrowed his eyes at Bell in a sagely manner. Instead of trying to look like a wisdom-filled man trying to make a point, he looked like he's trying to look past Bell's clothes from other people's point of view.

"W-w-w-wha." Bell stammered, red faced as he uses his hands to cover his chest and groan reflexively.

"That's no excuse for you to have someone strip for you and you know it." Hestia retorted, her face was equally red. "Why are you so adamant in having Bell strip for you anyway?"

"Well, it's mostly because I've been trick multiple times by a person concealing their gender and I rather find out what sex they really are right now instead of later to avoid very awkward situations later on. Besides, I bet you'd enjoy the show yourself." Cinder wiggle his eyebrow at her in a suggestive manner, his smile never leaving his face.

"T-t-t-t-there's no way I would enjoy something like that!" Hestia squeaked in denial, her face flushed even more as she tries to avoid eye contact with either of the boys in front of her.

"Ah, so he already has a woman under his charms, and it's one of my daughters to boot. I'm not sure how I should feel about this." Cinder muttered to himself quietly enough that neither one of the two heard him as he rubs his chin in a contemplating manner. "Oh well, he's a nice enough kid from what I can tell so I'll hold off castrating him...for now." With that decision in mind, Cinder let his arms down to his side and decided to tried and alleviate some of Hestia's embarrassment to distract himself from the slowly growing urge to castrate a certain rabbit. "Oh relax Kami-chan, it's just a small prank. No need to get so worked up. Side's, I'd stop him from stripping if he ever did try."

"Really?" Bell asked as he turn to face him.

There was a slight pause from Cinder before he answered him, eyes darting away from his to avoid eye contact. "Of course."

"Why was there a pause just now?" Bell questioned nervously.

Sadly for him, his question remained unanswered as Hestia seemingly remembered something and started speaking to Cinder excitedly. "Well then, now that you've met my child; what do you think? He has potential right?" Hestia looked over at Bell proudly before looking back at Cinder. Bell wondered just what his Goddess was talking about as the amber eyed man just put on a thoughtful look as he examine Bell from top to toe.

"Actually, we've met before in the dungeon earlier today but all spare you the boring details of what happened there. As for Bell-chan here," Cinder said, ignoring the 'hey' coming from said boy when he uses a more feminine form of honorifics to address him. "I can tell you that he's a bit slow on the uptake and from what I can gather, has a 1.5 to 2 seconds of delayed reaction when caught by surprise as evident from the little prank that I threw at him just now. From what you've told me about him, it's not that long since he started being an Adventurer so I can forgive that but generally, those precious few seconds always means a lot on the field; especially during life and death situations. So he'd need to improve on that as soon as possible. Not the worst kid I have to deal with and definitely not the best either but eh, I can work with that." He told Hestia with a nod and she beamed brightly.

"W-wait a minute! Kami-sama, what's going on here!?" Bell blurt out when he heard Cinder's assessment of him.

"Like I said, a bit slow on the uptake." Cinder pointed with a grin.

"That's because we never did explain anything to him in the first place." Hestia responded with an exasperated sigh. "Well Bell-kun," Hestia began to explain but was interrupted by Cinder as he held his hand up to stop Hestia.

"I believe I can explain it for the poor boy for you Kami-chan." He said.

"I think I should be the one to-" Hestia tried to say but was cut off when Cinder ignore what she has to say.

"Nonsense, I'm perfectly capable of explaining just what had transpire between us for the boy." Cinder told her with a grin and Hestia grew a worried look as he turn to look at Bell. "Long story short, your Goddess here has recruited me to help you gain experience in the art of not dying horribly in a fight. Therefore, I'm going to be your torturer from this point on." Cinder told him as he cross his arms in front of his chest and the grin on his face grew wider with glee.

An uncomfortable silence soon followed as Bell and Hestia both stared at the male. The former in trepidation and the latter in a perfect deadpan of someone who knew this was coming.

"What?" That was Bell's only response.

"He meant trainer Bell." Hestia corrected Cinder with a weary sigh.

"I've often been told that they're the same thing, mostly by the people I'm in charge of training." Cinder shrugged, not really caring. "Might have something to do with my method of training though."

"I'm really starting to worry about this arrangement." Hestia murmured.

"Oh relax child with ridiculous proportioned breast, Bell-chan isn't the first naive kid that I've trained. They all mostly turned out fine. I usually beat the naivety out of them pretty quickly too. Best record so far is 5 days and I'm always looking to improve it." Cinder continued to grin like a madman as he told them that

"Stop calling me that! And also, you really need to work on how to make an impression on others. If I didn't get to know you before, I'd have thought that you're a sadistic person who enjoy making others miserable from what you've just said." Hestia just shook her head with an exasperated sigh before eyeing her only Familia member. "Bell-kun here surely has that impression of you already."

"He's not really going to torture me is he?" Bell questioned meekly.

"No, Bell-kun. He's not. He just likes to mess with people once he gets to know them." Hestia hurriedly explain, not wanting her child to deny the free training being offered to him. Cinder is the only one she could find that's willing to impart some knowledge on surviving the Dungeon to her child and she didn't want to waste that chance. Other Adventurers are mostly too busy or didn't want anything to do with a Familia that isn't even well known so finding someone who's actually willing to help for free among the hundreds and thousands of people is actually a godsend.

"I wouldn't worry about that too much. I mean, you're not wrong about the sadistic part but I've made plenty of friends even when I'm like this." Cinder looked rather proud as he said that. "I'd like to think that they rather like me."

"Oh really?" Hestia questioned in a quizzing tone, clearly not believing what he just said.

"Well, to be fair most did tried to kill me when or after we first met but hey, it didn't stop me from being friends with them. Side's, the first impression Bell got of me is me saving him from a Minotaur. I'm sure that had to net me a lot of points to put me in his good books."

"Wait what!? A Minotaur!?" Hestia cried out in surprise before rushing over to Bell, worry clearly plastered onto her face as she frets over him like a mother worrying about her child.

"Ohhhh right. Never mentioned that before either. Looks like you got some explaining to do there kiddo. Welp, I'm going to head inside for the tea she made before it gets cold. Good luck~" Cinder turn away from the duo and bid his good bye in a sing-song voice, giving them a wave as he walked away and make his way inside their home for free drinks.

 **-0-**

 **Orario- Twilight Manor**

"And here we are! Twilight Manor, home sweet home." Tiona announced out loud with cheer in her voice at the sight of her home after not seeing it for a long period of time. The Firekeeper let loose a small smile at the energetic little girl and nodded in thanks in her direction for telling her that they had arrived. Annalotte couldn't exactly see just where here is, but her sense could give her an outline of a large castle just before her as well as the happiness and relief from everyone around her when they saw the large castle coming into view.

The entire trip here has been a very entertaining affair for the Firekeeper, mostly because the group that she had been traveling with were a very eccentric bunch due to the diverse personalities that made up the group that kept things interesting. She couldn't help but compare them to her lord and his merry band of misfits as well.

If she's to be perfectly honest, she rather prefer their company than her Lord's. It isn't because he's bad company per se...it's just she prefers a peaceful outing every once in a while. That is something impossible to acquire when traveling with the Lord of Cinder as they can't walk three feet without stumbling into some sort of wild adventure or quest that usually lead them into a frantic melee and would always end in wanton destruction. She'd really like walking a few miles without having to hear someone or something cry out in pain and anguish before their lives sadly and predictably expires with the maniacal laughter of you know who echoing in the distance.

Not to mention the explosions.

There are lots and lots of unnecessary explosions.

The trip to reach Loki's Familia's home has been very peaceful one indeed.

"Wel-" There was a sound that caught her ear as the group near the castle entrance. Annalotte tried focusing her senses towards the origin and was surprised to see a particular soul heading their way and in great speed too. From what she could glimpse from the soul heading their way, Annalotte could see that it was one of her lord's many godly daughters. Her soul is clearly shinning brighter than anyone present in her company, emitting relief and happiness upon seeing her Familia members as she rush over towards them. Oddly enough, Annalotte couldn't help but feel a tinge of a perverted old man's personality mixed within her soul. How odd.

Based from the information she had gathered from her newfound friends, that would make the person that's heading their way Loki.

"-come-" Loki's voice was getting louder and everyone present in the group seem to have heard it as well. A group of females standing in front of her that consist of Aiz, Tione, Tiona had the foresight to lean away, creating a clear path while the Lefiya, who was standing behind them at the end of the path, let out a confused 'eh?' as she watch her friends quickly parted away.

"-homeeeeeeeee~" Loki shouted as a red and black blur flew out of the castle entrance and promptly collide with the confused elf. Lefiya let out a girlish squeak as she fell towards the ground with the one who was welcoming them back in tow.

"Is everybody alright!? Uuu, I was so lonely at home while you're all gone." Loki cried out in a dejected tone but her actions didn't match the emotion in her voice as her hands went to fondle the young elf's breast. The blond girl let out a cry of embarrassment as she was groped by the newcomer and struggled to break free from her grasp.

While feeling a sense of amusement at the scene unfolding before her, Annalotte took the time to study Loki's outline with her skill to get an inking of what she look like.

The Goddess before her was small in structure and could easily be mistaken for a boy from her clothing and the lack of...assets that one could usually use to identify females with and Annalotte could also tell that Loki's long hair was tied into a pony-tail.

"Yes, Loki-sama. We're back." Finn greeted the woman with a smile and a nod. "I'm happy to report that there are no casualties in this time's expedition. However, the furthest achieved floor did not increase due to unexpected circumstances that I will elaborate further through a written report."

Loki nodded upon hearing what Finn said and put on an understanding look. "Hmmm, I understand. I suppose it'd be cruel for me to make you report everything just when you've all just returned so it can't be helped. Anyway, welcome home, all of you." She said as she turn her attention to the rest of her Familia with a warm smile on her face, taking in the sight of her children returning back safe and sound.

As Loki was surrounded by her Familia, Annalotte could feel the love they have for their Goddess and the love Loki has for them. The Firekeeper couldn't help but smile at the warm feeling they all were emitting. It was a very familiar feeling, it's almost the same as the tender affection of a parent from her Lord when she was under his care.

He may not know it himself but he often subconsciously treats everyone around him like they were children, his children. Considering his age, everyone might as well be children to him. Depending on their attitudes towards him, he may treat them like snotty brats in need of spanking; ignored them like they're the bastard child that he never wanted; mess with them like they're the neighborhood kids or look after them with love and care like they're his own children.

Annalotte realised that Loki has already found something that her lord never knew he was yearning for that took many cycles and a meeting with his daughter to figure out what it was.

A family.

Spending time with sweet little Aria has been a very new experience for the Soul of Cinder, especially when they first met and she barely acknowledges him after finding out that he was her father and treated him with cold disdain when she did. She didn't like the primordial lord one bit, mainly because he was never there her entire life and only showed up recently because her uncle Gael met up with him at the Cathedral of the Deep.

Young Aria only thought of him as a stranger who tried to barge in into her life at that time and she didn't like it at all, especially since he was never there when she needed a father to be with her. The old lord had not idea what to do to get her to talk to him and little Aria was being very petty by steadfastly not changing how she viewed her father.

Oh, it has been very entertaining to watch how the mighty being fumbled his way through getting his daughter to forgive him. He was very confused and was utterly unsure of how to deal the stubborn child that suddenly appeared into his life like that. He even remarked that she got her stubbornness from her mother, something he clearly has experience with.

While he could just ignore her like she ignored him, he didn't. Instead, he kept on trying to get closer to the child. He even went as far as asking others for help and that man hated asking other people for help.

It took a long while and one big fight (If one could consider it as such) that consist of Aria shouting a lot regarding how she felt about the old Lord and said Lord quietly listening as she vent out her anger and frustration. That by itself spoke volume of how much he wanted to connect with the young girl.

She was still a naive little child back then after all, even if she is hundreds of years old. She had spent her entire life all coop up in the painting, ignorant of the ongoings of what lay outside of her world and what her father had faced and done to get where he is today. While that much is true, her Lord also realized that he didn't know anything about the girl himself. Unlike Aira at that time, he wanted to get to know her better, to understand just how she felt so he did the only thing he could. He listened.

He, a being of overwhelming power, just sat sat quietly and listened as his daughter lashes out at him. He could've forced the young girl to listen to him instead but that would only serve to destroy whatever little bond they have. He also understood where Aria was coming from. He could tell that she was confused about the entire situation herself and could only react the same way any child would when faced with something they don't like, lashing out.

And when Aria was done shouting, she just cried and cried and her father just did what came naturally and held her in his arms gently until she calmed down. After that, they eventually got closer over time and their interactions more or less resembles what a father and daughter would act to one another.

Now that she thought about it, perhaps it was part of his subconscious yearning for a bigger family that lead him to create a new set of Gods and Goddesses in the new world; or was it merely something he did on a whim like always? Annalotte would never know unless she asked the man.

"Can you let go of Lefiya now Loki-sama? She's clearly embarrassed enough already." Annalotte heard Finn said.

"Oopsie~ Sorry Lefiya-chan." Loki chuckled as she let go of the sexually harassed elf. Poor Lefiya was laid on the ground with her face burning red as she covers her chest and let out a pitiful 'Uuu'. "Seeing my children that I love coming home safe and sound, I was suddenly overwhelmed by my emotions." She explained her reasoning for groping Lefiya and nobody in the group believed her. Most just gave her a deadpanned stare while others just laughed good-naturedly, already used to her perverted tendencies. "Speaking of which Lefiya-chan," The Goddess turn her attention towards the elf on the ground with both her hands held in front of her, making a strange grabbing gesture as she grinned like an old man. "Did your boobs get bigger?"

"It didn't get bigger!" The young elf denied, her face still as red as before.

Even without using her ability, Annalotte could tell that everyone was thinking that Loki's like an old man and she couldn't help but agree. A fine young lady such as herself shouldn't act so...vulgar. Maybe she should pitch in for her Lord and teach her some proper manners? After all, she is his child and by extension, represents him in some way. If people knew how his children acted they would….oh who was she trying to fool. There's no way the Soul of Cinder would even care about his image and reputation. He'd probably just laughed when he sees Loki's antics and pat her on the back for the job well done.

Annalotte straighten herself when she felt Loki's eyes finally landed on her. She could feel her curiosity rising with each passing second after she saw an unfamiliar face in the group of her children. "Oh? And who's this?" The Goddess asked as she got up from the ground and approach her.

Loki stood before her, hands on her hips as she studied her with a smile on her face. "Why hello there stranger. What brings you to my humble abode?" Annalotte couldn't help but think that a giant castle is anything but a humble abode.

"Oh! This is Annalotte." Tiona, being the closest one around, quickly introduced the Firekeeper to her Goddess. "Annalotte, this is out Goddess Loki. Whether or not you want to add Sama in the end is entirely up to you though since she's not really that keen on the whole formality business." Tiona informed her.

' _Just like her father.'_ Annalotte remarked internally as she suppressed a small chuckle.

"Oh, I see. Nice you meet you Annalotte-chan~ Are you here to join my Familia? I'll have you know that you'll need to pass a lot of tests if you want to gain admission to my Familia." Loki told her rather playfully and the Firekeeper could only sense that she was curious and interested in her. As a large and well-known Familia, it's no doubt that Loki would frequently have new people trying to join up in their ranks. Seeing new faces every now and then isn't something that odd for the young Goddess, especially if those new faces acted completely polite or imposing just to curry favor from the Goddess.

If anyone were to try that with her father though, they would get a sword through the chest for their troubles. The Soul of Cinder chooses who and when he make friends with others, not the other way around.

Annalotte just gave the young Goddess a polite smile and shook her head. "My apologies, but I am not here for that. My loyalties lies elsewhere I'm afraid but thy offer is appreciated."

Loki was undoubtedly surprised by the instant rejection but didn't show and instead, she gained an intrigued look on her face as she peer closer at the strange woman that showed up on her doorstep with her children, taking in her looks. It's not everyday that someone would deny a chance to enter the world's second strongest Familia without a second thought after all.

"I see. Well, can't be helped then." Loki just gave a casual shrug of her shoulders. "So, mind telling me why you're here then?"

The Firekeeper was about to explain her situation to the redhead Goddess but Tiona offered to do it for her with an excited glint in her eye. Seeing that her new friend wanted to have a chance to talk to her Goddess herself, Annalotte conceded to her request with a nod and the Amazoness smiled brightly at her before lunching into a very heavily edited exposition of what happened, mostly to make things more interesting than it actually was. While the young Amazoness started telling her Goddesses things that she doubt were actually as dramatic as Tiona was making them out to be, Annalotte noticed that most of the people from the expedition went to do their own things and separated from the group gathered at the entrance.

Seeing that everyone was doing whatever they want, the Firekeeper decided to speak with the person that she had been meaning to for a while now but couldn't find the chance until now.

"Aiz-chan." Annalotte called as she approaches the blond woman. Aiz seem slightly surprised that she was being called by her but nevertheless turn to address her.

"Hai?" She replied inquiringly.

"I can sense that thou art in discomfort for quite a while now. Art thou in pain?" the Firekeeper asked in concern, earning a slight and ever so subtle flinch from the girl before she replied.

"Ah...no. I'm fine." Aiz said, clearly lying as she look away.

Annalotte furrow her brows in concern as she thought about why Aiz would feel the need to conceal her discomfort from others. While doing so she noticed that within her sensor range, Tiona was looking very happy and amused as she told Loki about how Annalotte was like during their trip together.

"While Riveria acts like the mother, Annalotte is more like the big sister of the family. She's like, the best kind of sister you could ask for." Tiona said.

"Aww, do I have to worry about my place being taken?" Tione jokingly asked in mock hurt.

Tiona put on a very thoughtful look as she look between Tione and Annalotte that was standing in the distance with Aiz before looking back at her sister. "Can I switch?" She requested in a very serious tone.

"Hey!" Tione cried out indignantly.

"Oh relax sis, I'm just kidding." Tiona told her with a laugh.

"Really?"

"Yes?"

"Why did that sounded more like a question instead?"

Annalotte pulled her attention away from them and back to the blond swordswoman who's looking very nervous for some reason. Then she realized that from Aiz's point of view, it was like Annalotte just kept staring at her in silence, probably hoping that she would cave in and tell her the truth. The Firekeeper just sighed and let the matter drop, clearly sensing that the Aiz didn't want to admit her exhausted state. "Very well then Aiz-chan. But still, it would be best if you rest when you can. It wouldn't do if thou kept pushing yourself so much."

"...Ah...okay."

"Now then, I can tell that you have something in thy mind for a while now. If you'd like, do you wisheth to speak about it? I am a very good listener if I do say so myself. After all, listening to people's tales and woes and helping troubled souls is one of mine own enjoyable pastimes. You should know as you have been watching Tione droning on about how wondrous Finn-san is to me on our way back." Annalotte told the young woman with a small and comforting smile.

Aiz looked rather hesitant as her eyes dart downward at her hands. The Sword Princess gained a thoughtful look on her face as she thought about Annalotte's offer. Her hands slowly clenched and relaxed before she let them down and look back at the Firekeeper. She was about to open her mouth to speak before someone called from behind them.

"Hey Anna-chan~ I got the gist of your situation from Tiona there." Loki called and jerked a thumb behind her back, pointing at the two Amazoness where one is waving back at them while the other one with the larger assets was looking very pouty that her younger sister would even consider exchanging her for someone else. "If you want someplace to stay for the night, you could bunk on one of the spare rooms we have for guests." The young Goddess informed her with a widespread grin.

The Firekeeper smiled brightly upon hearing the news and some of her worries eased. At least for now, she had a place to stay the night. Now she just need leads to finding the most unpredictable soul in the world since the Furtive Pygmy.

Annalotte quickly bow her head towards the Goddess in appreciation. "Thank you very much for thy kindness, Loki-sama." She told her in a voice filled with gratitude that caused the Goddess to scratch her cheek sheepishly at how heartfelt her gratitude towards her was.

"Maa~ Don't worry about it so much. Tiona seem to have taken a liking to you so you can't be all that bad. Speaking of the devil..." Loki trailed off and looked to the side to see said Amazoness bouncing over with Tione on her heels.

"Hey guys, are you done yet? We're going to take a shower and wondering if you wanted to join us." Tiona asked once she had gotten close enough. "Not Loki though." She suddenly added as an afterthought, earning a dejected whine from said Goddess just as she was about to suggest joining in with them.

"A shower?" The Firekeeper asked in confusion, never having heard that term before.

"Yeah, from what I can tell you really need it with all that ash and dirt on you. Maybe we can find some spare clothes for you to wear while we wash the one you have on." Tiona suggested as she examine Annalotte's attire, noting just how dirty it was. "We should hurry though, there's going to be a long line to use the baths if we wait too long. Come on Aiz, you too." The Sword Princess just gave herself a quick whiff and winched as she finally noticed the odour her body was protruding before agreeing to come along.

Before Annalotte could answer whether or not she'd like to join them, she was already being dragged along by Tiona as she and the rest of the ladies that she had managed to gathered beforehand headed into the Twilight Manor. The Firekeeper could only offer a smile of amusement at the proceedings as she followed Tiona into the Manor and wondered curiously just what this shower thing is.

She was unaware that she's in for a big surprise that involved her being hot and steamy and getting wet.

 **-0-**

As the girls scuttled off to get clean, Loki had a very thoughtful expression on her face as she watched the retreating figure of the Firekeeper. Annalotte, was it? The woman sure is a very interesting individual, that's for sure. Loki couldn't tell why just yet but there's something about her that just made her feel like she should know her. Had they met at some point? That can't be right, she's pretty certain that she would at least remember someone as unique looking as Annalotte if she did.

According to Tiona, Annalotte's blind which is very telling from the white crown covering her eyes and yet she can walk around and interact with her surroundings like any normal person could. Interestingly, Tiona informed her that Annalotte had a skill that allowed her to perceive the world around her in her own way. There's also the fact that also very clueless to pretty much everything.

Now, just what kind of life did Annalotte lived for her to be so ignorant of the world? To never have heard of the Gods and Goddess descend towards the lower realm and the great achievements of the many Familia that's spread all over the world.

Her musings were interrupted however when she noticed that Riveria was approaching her.

"Oh, Riveria-chan~ what's up? Shouldn't you go join Tiona and the rest to take a shower?" Loki greeted the emerald haired woman.

The elf just shook her head. "There's still things to be done that I'd rather finish first." Loki nodded in understanding, the aftermath of an Expedition is generally the most troublesome thing to handle. Poor Riveria, even though she's tired from the journey she still has to make sure everything is in order, take note of the remaining supplies and the things that they had lost during the expedition and who knows what else before she could rest.

"Loki-sama," Rivera began in a curious tone. "While I'm not against in letting Annalotte stay over for the night, I'm guessing you have an ulterior motive for letting her do so am I correct?"

"Why of course there is Rivera-chan~" Loki replied in a laid back manner, her arms resting behind her head as she look back towards the Manor where the girls disappeared into, her mind thinking back to their new guest. "Fufufu, her breast were quite large so I wanted to have a chance figure out her size while I can. What better way to do that than let her stay for the night?" The Goddess told her with a perverted smile as she did a grabbing motion with her hands.

The elf just gave her Goddess a flat stare to seem to convey her thoughts on that matter very well. Of course, Loki ignored it with ease and look backs where she had last seen the Firekeeper. "There's also this feeling that I have that I can't quite place when I saw her. It's not a bad feeling per se and I'm quite curious as to why I have it in the first place." Loki told Riveria with a more serious tone, earning a raise of the eyebrow from the elf as she followed her Goddess gaze towards the entrance of the Manor. There's just so much to know about their new guest, and what's most interesting to her is that Annalotte uses a very old way of speaking. She haven't heard someone speak like that in centuries and suddenly hearing that way of speech from a young girl like her tends to make one wonder just where she learned to speak like that. Speaking of which….

"Rivera-chan, do the Elves back in your homeland still use the same manner of speech like Annalotte does?" Loki questioned the elf curiously. It is a well known fact that Elves have the longest lifespan among all the other known races that lives on this world even without the aid of Falna to bolster their longevity. It's also a well known fact that the older elves are more traditional and rather stubborn in their ways. She wouldn't be surprise if some of them who lived through the olden days still cling onto the old way of speaking.

The elf thought about the question for a moment before replying with a slight nod. "Yes. In fact, most of the Elves in the council still uses it to this day and as a member of a High Elf I am expected to understand it as well. It goes without saying I would have no trouble understanding the things Annalotte had said." Riveria confirmed her thoughts, earning a very thoughtful expression on Loki's face.

"But why though? If you don't mind me asking that is."

Riveria just rose an eyebrow at her Goddess' inquisitive behavior but didn't think too much upon it. "You're familiar with the Elven council yes?" At the mention of the council Loki's face immediately blenched like she had just tasted something horrible as she thought about what a council usually entails.

' _Bleh, politics.'_ Loki thought of the word in disgust. Oooohhhh, she's familiar with them alright. She had to visit them once a long time ago for what reason she can't remember but she sure as hell remembered just how much bickering and dick waving those old coots did instead of just getting to the point of the meeting. Do they really have to boast about how great they are with their titles and stuff whenever they open their mouths? At least when the Gods and Goddess met they wouldn't be as annoying as those old farts in the Elven Council. Ugh, the amount of arrogance those fools displayed is sickening and she's not sure if a black hole is big enough to contain their egos. Hopefully they were switched out for someone newer and younger by now.

"Yes. Yes I am sadly." Loki admitted in slight annoyance. "But the ones that I knew of were from a century ago so I suppose that you're referring to a different council than the one I knew right?" Loki asked, hoping that she was right because she couldn't imagine those old farts somehow managed to keep their position on the council for so long.

"No I am not. The council members still remained the same as before as they're only pushing past their midlife by Elven standards." _'_ _Quite unfortunate if I do say so myself._ _They're one of the main reasons why I wanted to leave home after all._ _"_ Riveria added inwardly with a sighas she informed the Goddess of the status of the council, causing the redhead to click her tongue in disappointment. "At any rate, most of the council members prefer the old way of speech and being part of the royal family, I had to regularly attend their meetings in order to learn more about politics so I could better lead the Elves in the future."

"It also helped that my Godmother also spoke in the same way as them, therefore I'm quite used to it." Riveria let loose a small nostalgic smiled as she thought of the wise old elf that had taught her so much when she was still just a child and would always know just what to say to help her though her though times. She always thought of her as a very close friend and confidant and she was also one of the few who supported her decision to leave the forest to live her life as she saw fit. She still have the communication stone she had gifted her when she was but a child that they used to talk to one another with. Nowadays they rarely make contact because of her role as vice captain of Loki's Familia but she still look towards her for guidance whenever she's in a bind.

Thankfully, her Godmother never seem to mind whenever she went to her for advices but Riveria still feel slightly guilty for troubling her so.

"You Godmother? The Council Adviser right?" Loki asked for conformation and Riveria nodded. "Hmm," Loki began as she rub her chin in deep thought. She never met the so called Adviser in person before but had heard many great and interesting things about her. For one, she never left her chambers and only a selected handful could enter and meet her. Whenever her presence is needed during a council meeting, she would use a type of spell that allows her voice to reach those in the meeting room and vice versa. Another thing she heard from said selected elves is that she is always hidden behind a veil of curtains so they could never really see what she looked like. In fact, no one knows what she looked like, not even the royal family.

According to the rumours, the title of the Adviser had never been passed on and that one person had it for centuries upon centuries. They also don't know when she was first made her appearance as well. It was like she was just there since the beginning. Heck, someone even speculated that she existed long before the Elves started their own kingdom and was the one who guided them to prosperity.

Oh well, no point thinking about it right now and it's best make sure their new guest wouldn't encounter any problem during her stay here. She could always ask that snobbish know-it-all Ouranos if she wanted to know who the Council Adviser is. He always seem to know more than he lets on so maybe he knows the Adviser's identity.

"Well, since you already know the olden speech, can I ask you to look after Annalotte while she's here. I imagine her way of communicating would cause some confusion around here."

"Understood Loki-sama." Riveria told her with a nod. "I'll go find her once I'm done here."

"Ah, right. Sorry for taking up your time Riveria-chan. I think I'll just go find Anna-chan to see if I can find out more about her myself." And with that, the trickster left the emerald haired elf to ambush the girls in the shower and Riveria just shook her head with an exasperated sigh before returning to organizing things.

As Loki left, her mind wandered to Annalotte's so called lord that she serves as mentioned by Tiona. She was really intrigued by this mysterious lord and wondered just who it is and most importantly, why does she get this strange but pleasant feeling when she's near Annalotte?

 **-0-**

 **Orario- Underneath the Abandon Church In West Main Street**

The Soul of Cinder took a sip of tea from the small cup in his hand, savoring the taste as he closed his eyes to stop the tears of happiness from flowing freely. After so long, he could finally taste things again. It had been a distant dream for as long as he could remember after finding out that his senses were dulled as an Undead. He had already forgotten what food tasted like and drinking this tea in his hand managed to nudge some of those forgotten memories awake from whatever hole they were buried in.

There were many times where he experiment with spices to see if he could at least get some response from his taste buds but alas, nothing ever came out of it and everything remained as tasteless as ever even if he basically drowned the food in salt.

But now, now those days were finally over and with it, he felt that there's finally meaning in living again.

The tea's shit though.

But he's not going to let poorly made tea let him down.

' _ **It's not the tea that's bad but rather, you set your standard too high. The poor girl barely have anything in her home and high quality tea is a luxury she can't afford.'**_ The voice of a certain Lord of Cinder that represents justice and righteousness echoed within his mind.

Ignoring the voice in his head, Cinder placed the tea down on the table in front of him and turn his gaze back at the white haired rabbit seated in front of him on a purple sofa with loli big boobs seated right next to him, her hands continuously patting him all over to check for any injuries.

"And that's what happened." Cinder concluded with a smile, leaning back against his wooden chair and cross his arms in front of him.

"Ano...Cinder-san?" Bell began hesitantly.

"Yes genderless child?" Cinder quirked an eyebrow at him.

Bell's eye twitched at the genderless child comment but nevertheless pushed on. "You never actually explained anything to me. All you did once you sat down was took a sip of the tea Kami-sama gave you and say those words."

"Ah, no wonder why I felt like I was forgetting something that I should be doing." The old lord smack his fist into his palm in realization as the thought hit him.

' _ **As usual.'**_ The same voice in his head commented wryly.

"How did you met Kami-sama anyway?" the boy asked curiously.

"Oh, in some odd stall that she worked in. Then she dragged me off to some secluded place and basically bullied me into teaching you how to survive dangerous places." Cinder told him non-nonchalantly with a shrug as he took another sip from the tea. He briefly noted that it's warm now.

"That's not what happened and you know it!" Hestia retorted before returning to molesting Bell with her hands.

"Yes, I know. I still remembered just how sincere your speech to recruit me was." Cinder said as he thought back to that time.

 _Hestia place a hand on her chest and spoke with eyes full of hope. "Could you please join my Familia?" Her voice was palpably desperate, causing Cinder briefly wondered just how many times had her offer been rejected for her to be that desperate. "I already have a child in my Familia that's only started out being an Adventurer half a month ago." Oh, so someone did joined Cinder noted. "He's still young and inexperienced and everyday he would head into the Dungeon to risk his life for the sake of our Familia. It fills my heart with worry whenever him put himself in danger like that. I would worry less if there was someone in there with him, watching his back." She requested._

" _I know you both can be great friends too! So please..." She trailed off, looking at her feet and the hand that was placed on her chest tightened into a fist. Her whole body was quivering."He's my first child...I don't want to lose him..."_

"Even though I was pouring my heart and soul out, he denied me without even batting an eye." Hestia muttered with a dejected pout as she pull her knees to her chest and started drawing a circle on the couch with a gloomy cloud appearing above her head.

Cinder agreed that it was a moving speech but sadly for her, sob stories are a dime a dozen and he had basically heard all of them before during his long life.

With a sigh, Cinder lean against his chair and relaxed his body. "Alright fine. Long story short, she tired to convince me to join her Familia and I refused because it would be troublesome." It's troublesome because he had to contribute to the Familia if he joined. Hestia had explained to him that a Familia is a group of some sort that's headed by a God or Goddess and is named after the deity in charge. Since her name is Hestia then her Familia is obviously called Hestia's Familia.

The person who joined a Familia would get a blessing from the Deity of said Familia called Falna, a sort of grace that empower the person so they could be stronger than any normal human can. They can become even stronger by collecting something called exilia or experience points by various means to raise their Status. They are gained through experiencing a variety of events and just like their name implies, they are based on your own experiences in life. Somehow it sorta reminds Cinder of what a Firekeeper would do, albeit a shitter and incomplete version because it takes like years of training for an Adventurer to level up with some expectations. Hell, some never did during their entire career from what he heard.

There are many types of Familia in existence but the most common ones are exploration type. The other types are business type, industrial type, medicinal type, and even nation type.

All in all, a Familia is basically a covenant...only with taxes that they have to pay at the end of each month to the Guild.

"But if you didn't want to help then why are you here now?" Bell questioned like the curious child that he is.

"She cheated and cried. I'm basically forced to help her unless I want others to think that I made her cry." Cinder deadpanned.

"I did no such thing." Hestia defended herself hastily.

"Correction: she was about to cry." Cinder recalled the teary eyes she had given him when he was about to leave her all alone in the park.

There was an immediate outburst from the other Lord of Cinders, all demanding him to help the poor and most importantly, adorable creature. Cinder himself has acquired some resistance to resist demands from cute and cuddly creatures thanks to Aria but the other Lords….not so much since they weren't faced with the full brunt of her cuteness attack as they hid away just when Aria was about to unleash it.

And so, he had to compromise. It's either that or let the other Lords nag him to death.

"Being the kind gentleman that I am, I can't leave her like that and decided to compromise. After hearing from her on just how you've basically just a newbie, I thought I could offer you some training to improve your chances in surviving in the Dungeon."

"You looked like you were forced to do it when you made the offer though." Hestia pointed out. "Anyway, can you really offered anything in Bell-kun's training? From what I heard from him, you were the one who lead the Minotaur towards him in the first place." She said as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I was leading it away to a more suitable environment to engage it in." Cinder lied through his teeth. "I'm more suited in fighting in open spaces, not narrow corridors and I had no idea Bell would at the end there so I had to improvise when I met him. I could fight it just fine but I can't guarantee your child's safety if I did."

"I see." Hestia nodded in understanding.

"Side's, like I've said before, I've trained plenty of others before I came to Orario and they all turned out great if I do say so myself." Cinder told them with a sense of pride swelling within his chest. That part where he said he had trained others before is totally true. He had trained like, all the other Lords of Cinders before they became Lord of Cinders and a bunch of other forgettable dudes that came after the tenth cycle simply because he was bored.

While he wasn't the best teacher when he first started out in the training business but now, he could say with full confidence that he's the best trainer out there who can turn a wimpy and scrawny man into battle hardened warrior who could face their foes without flinching. Heck, most of them just rushed off to fight against their enemies without caring of their own safety. Makes him proud to see such valor being displayed on the battlefield.

' _ **I think you meant shell-shocked, slightly deranged and suicidal victims of torture who would gladly rush off to their deaths than to face your so called training again. And that was me putting it mildly.'**_ Justice commented.

' _What? Nonsense. I'm a great teacher. Just ask Scholar. He's the latest addition of my many pupils from the cycle before the last one.'_

' _ **You casted**_ _ **V**_ _ **ow of**_ _ **S**_ _ **ilence on me and tossed me into a pit filled with giant crabs!'**_ A voice, different from the one from before, yelled out in anger.

' _Yeah so? It makes great practice. Who knows when you'll fall into a pit filled with giant crabs and had to fight your way out.'_

' _ **I'm a mage you moron! My entire combat style is centered around my spells!'**_

' _Now you're a mage who can defeat giant crabs with your bare fists. You're welcome.'_

'… _ **.I hate you.'**_

' _I bask in your hate.'_

"Anyway," Cinder turn his attention outward and away from the fuming Lord of Cinder. "the final decision is still up to you Bell. If you reject then I'm afraid there's little I can offer other than some advices. From what I can gather from Hestia, you have potential Bell. It's only been half a month since you started slaying monsters without any prior training and you're already made it to the fifth floor. From what I heard, it's not someplace for someone who only started not long ago. Not bad if I do say so myself." The white haired boy looked embarrassed at the praise and scratch his slightly redden cheek with a sheepish smile. "I'd just hate to see it go to waste without anyone to give you a solid foothold to develop your talents in."

' _ **More like you'd hate to lose a free punching bag for you to familiarize your new body with.'**_ Scholar said with a scoff.

' _Alright fine, I may have a hidden agenda for training him.'_ Cinder admitted without any shame. _'But hey, at least Bell gets to get stronger while I get used to my new body. It's like killing two drakes with one lightning spear. That way, I won't die because I messed up and he won't die because he messed up. Win-win for all.'_

' _ **Based on what? You do realized that the possibility of us dying for good is something that you assumed on your own without any proof whatsoever to back it up. For all we know, we would just respawn at the Kiln after we die.'**_

" _Well it's better safe than sorry my friend after all, we all remember what happened to Georgia right?"_

' _ **Ah yes, that poor lad was woefully unprepared for the task you have given him.'**_ Justice chimed in. _**'If I do recall, it's mostly your fault.'**_

' _No it's not.'_ Cinder protested indignantly.

' _ **You sent him to fight against a dragon in his underwear and nothing else. How is it not your fault.'**_ Scholar reminded him in a chiding manner.

' _It builds character.'_

' _ **It built nothing but a pile of ashes. He was a human for crying out loud, and he wasn't even afflicted with the curse.'**_

' _ **Somehow I feel sorry for the young lad that's about to receive Cinder's sadistic training from hell.'**_ Justice sighed.

' _ **You and me both Justice.'**_

Ignoring the two voices talking in his head, Cinder looked at Bell expectantly, waiting for his answer. After Cinder had finish saying his piece, Bell had been thinking deeply about the offer for a while now, staring at his own cup of tea that had been sitting in front of him untouched. Hestia, on the other hand, seem to trust her child enough to make his own choices in this matter as she sat by his side patiently, waiting for him to make up his mind.

They all waited for him for a full minute with a sort of tense silence filling the air, or tense for Hestia at least because Cinder was busy taking the 45th sip of his his tea (the cup must be magically enhanced or something) before Bell finally came to a conclusion. The boy turn his gaze towards Cinder, meeting him in the eye with a gaze that told the Soul of Cinder what his decision was before he said them.

His eyes were filled to the brim with determination, the very same one that he saw within the Dungeon where he had to choose to fight or die.

"I want to get stronger." Bell told him simply and Cinder nodded in return, understanding his desire for strength. He used to be weak as well, just like the boy in front of him. The feeling of being helpless is something he utterly condemned with almost the same amount of passion he has for hunting down Patches with the differences being in motive. Hunting down Patches had somewhat become of a sort of tradition for Cinder while being the feeling of helplessness is something he never wanted to feel ever again. As for why...let's just say something bad things happen to the few people he come to care about.

"I can tell," Cinder said with a cheeky grin. "But I have to warn you in advance that I'm a very harsh trainer."

' _ **Harsh is putting it mildly.'**_ Justice commented wryly.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I can take it." Bell beamed at him confidently.

' _ **Oh that poor ignorant fool.'** _ Scholar lamented for Bell's well being and sanity.

Cinder just smirked and stood up, a hand reach out toward the other white haired boy in the room. "Well then, looks like I'll be seeing you a lot from now on. Let's just hope you won't slack off during training."

The harem protago- Rabbit boy quickly sprung up from the couch and grab his hand into a firm handshake to seal the deal. "Don't worry, I'll do my very best not to disappoint you." His red eyes were practically sparkling with excitement as he said that.

"Oh, by the way, I may have not wash my hands after using the bathroom." Cinder informed him non-nonchalantly afterwards.

With that, Bell's eyes widen and tried to pull his hands back from the offending appendage with 'tried' being the keyword as Cinder kept it locked in a death grip, his grin widening at Bell's panicked expression as the boy futilely tries to escape from his grasp.

Cinder's gotta admit, he's got a lot of strength in that little body of his. He needed to brace himself and put it a lot of effort to prevent himself from being pulled away.

All of the sudden, Cinder let go and Bell flew back onto the couch with a yelp.

"Oh relax, Genderless Child. I'm just messing with you. My hands are clean...or is it?" He said mysteriously in the end. He never really check his hygiene in ages so he's really not sure if they're clean or not. Mostly he just rely on a bonfire to clean himself from gunk and whatever that was sprayed onto him during his travels. Then again, he was an undead so he never bothered with hygiene in the first place. "You should wash your hands just in case though." He added as an afterthought along with a shrug.

"That's just gross." Bell complained as he wipes his hand on his shirt.

"You know," Hestia spoke up after a period of silent observing the two males in her home. "You two are almost like brothers with how you interact with each other. If someone were to look at you both from behind, they would possibly assume as such as well given how similar your hair colour is. Cinder is like the older brother who like to tease and bully Bell while he's the younger sibling who would always be at the receiving end of his older brother's pranks."

"Really?" Bell asked in disbelief, not what to think about Cinder as his Older brother.

Cinder snap his eyes towards the boy to take in his features, then he tried to recall what he looked like when he first saw himself in the reflection on his shield. Hmm, they do look rather similar in some way. A younger sibling huh? He never had one before. Well he might have, but he sure as hell can't remember it since he can't remember anything before he became an undead. Having a younger sibling is one of the few things Cinder never had the pleasure of experiencing before. If only...oh wait, what's stopping him from trying it now?

' _ **It's a stupid idea.'**_ Scholar commented.

' _ **You can barely even take responsibility for your own children, what makes your think you can look after a younger sibling?'**_ Justice added his own two cents.

And of course, like all the other times the other Lords of Cinder gave their advices that's completely logical and sensible, the man just ignore them in favor of doing what he wants regardless of how unreasonable it is. Why would he disregard quality advices from others you ask? Because that's how he rolls, and he'll be damned if he let anyone decide what's best for him even though he knows full well that he's going to regret it later. "That's it!" Cinder cried out it all of the sudden as he claps his hands together, drawing the attention of both the other occupants in the room as the look at him in surprise at his outburst. "Bell, from now on call me Nii-san." He demanded seriously.

"Huh?" The boy let out.

"I never had a little sibling before so this might as well be my chance to find out what it's like." He said, grinning happily.

"But-" Bell tried to protest against Cinder's unreasonable request but was interrupted.

"No buts lad. I'm your brother now and there's nothing you can do to change it."

"Cinder-san isn't this a bit-"

"Call me Nii-san" Cinder did a karate chop on the younger boy's head, hitting him on the head lightly. He's going to get a little brother today and nothing is going to stop him. He's probably going to be bored of it later and forget all about it but meh, focus on the present and fuck the future.

Bell just flinched and let out an 'ow' at the sudden impact but otherwise remained unharmed while Hestia just giggled at how the two interacted with each other.

' _ **Should we call a vote to put a stop to this madness?'**_ Justice asked Scholar.

' _ **It's not worth the effort to convince the others to care. Let him do what he wants.'**_ The other Lord pointed out wearily. ' ** _What's the worst that could happen?'_**

' _ **Did you just-'**_

' _ **Yes, yes I did. We both know that something's going to happen in the end. Might as well welcome it with open arms.'**_

 **-0-**

 **Dungeon- Kiln of The First Flame**

"Hey." One of the many white phantoms that was guarding the Kiln spoke to the one sitting next to him.

As time passes after the phantoms were summoned via the detection of a life form present in the Kiln a.k.a Aria, the little girl sleeping by the coiled sword, the phantoms realized that they won't be having any visitors anytime soon and started to ease up and left their formation in favor of wandering around the Kiln for something to do. It's not like they can unsummon themselves on their own and unless Aria leaves, they're sort of stuck here, guarding this desolated place from any who would dare enter.

To be frank, it's probably a design flaw or something for them to be Summoned when there's a single soul in the Kiln save for the Firekeeper and the Soul of Cinder. What if a mosquito got in? Will they have to hunt it down in order to leave this place? This place is huge and covered in ashes for crying out loud. Just how on earth are they suppose to find a single mosquito in this place if one ever got in? They probably have to wait until it die from natural causes if that's the case.

"Yeah?" Phantom 2 answered his companion as he uses a whetstone to sharpen his sword. It's quite a pointless gesture really, as they're not really here and their entire body was made out of magical energy or something and that meant their weapons and armors are as well so there's not really any need to maintain them.

"You ever wonder why we're here?" Phantom 1 asked.

Phantom 2 stopped sharpening his sword and lay down his whetstone on the ground as he rest his sword on his lap. The man tilt his head upwards and stare off in to the distance as he ponder the question presented before him. Eventually, he spoke. "I suppose it's just one of life's greatest mysteries, isn't it? There was a myth from of some sort from long, long ago saying that the Furtive Pygmy was the one who gave birth to the human race. But why did he do it? What purpose does it serve for him to create an entire race and then vanish right after. Are we suppose to unravel his intentions for doing so and be rewarded with vast knowledge beyond our comprehension, or are we merely something he created on a whim and abandoned when he got bored? I don't know mate, but it keeps me up at night."

Phantom 1 just stared at his companion like he was crazy. "What? No! I mean why we're out here, in this ash filled wasteland and what we're suppose to do?"

"Oh." Phantom 2 let out as he realized that he misunderstood his companion's question. "Didn't you read the contract the Lord of Cinder showed you before you sign up for this duty?" He asked.

"Dude, I was face to face with the Lord of Cinder of legend. A being so powerful and widely worshiped like a god whom also just so happen to be a well known psychopath that likes to kill people with a wooden ladle in the name of justice. Forgive me if I can't focus on anything else but not dying at the time."

"Ah right. It's always take the offer or die when it comes to him ain't it? Well, to explain your earlier question, we're the neutral faction here my friend. According to the contract, we just fight the people who entered this place and those who attack us." Phantom 2 explained before he raised his sword and point it towards the side where a bunch of red phantoms had gathered, all huddled up together and doing god knows what.

"The reds will be summoned 10 minutes later and will attack both us and those who entered to make things more chaotic." He points his sword towards the other side where a bunch of blue phantoms were milling about. "Then the blues will appear 5 minutes in to help those who tried to enter this place so they would actually have a chance to win this fight."

"Suck it Blues!" They heard one of the red phantom cried out.

"They also have some sort of history with each other that led them to hate each other. Anyway, while we're all engaged in a chaotic melee," White phantom 2 added before he jerked his thumb behind him towards the bunch of gold phantoms standing in one line, back straight and arms raised towards the air in the typical praise the sun gesture. "the Sunbros over there will be summoned to praise the sun and carpet bomb the place with lightning strikes with gusto without giving a damn about who they hit. That's pretty much all there is to it to the entire thing." Phantom 2 concluded with a nod.

"Okay, why do we need to do all that and why aren't we fighting each other right now?" Phantom 1 asked in confusion.

"Well my friend, it's mainly because everything is just to put on a show to make the final clash more epic and unarguably more chaotic than it should be. Since there's no one here but us, there's no reason to fight each other."

"Everything just seem needlessly complicated. Are we even needed here at all? I mean, can't the Lord of Cinder just kill everyone that got all by himself with ease?"

"There are many things that are better left unknown my friend. The mind of the Lord of Cinder is one of them."

"Is that your way of saying you have no idea?"

"Perhaps."

As the two white phantoms continue to chat away, they were completely unaware that they being observed by a pair of red red phantoms on a distant cliff.

"Hey." Red phantom 1 called out to the one using a binoculars next to him on a cliff, one hand playing with the string on his greatbow.

"What?" Red phantom 2 answered in an annoyed tone.

"What are they doing?" Phantom 1 asked.

Phantom 2 just sighed a long, insufferable sigh as he let down his binoculars to look at his partner.

"You've been asking me that same damn question for two hours straight and I am getting really sick of it." Phantom 2 growled in annoyance.

"Hey, you're the one with the binoculars." Phantom 1 shot back in an equally annoyed tone. "All I see from here are two white dots and I'm not just going to sit up here and play with my bow all day."

"Okay, okay, look: they're just sitting there and talking. Okay? That's all they're doing and that's all they ever do is just sit there and talk. That's what they were doing two hours ago, that's what they were doing when you asked me five minutes ago. So five minutes from now, when you ask me, 'What are they doing?', my answer's gonna be, 'They're still just talking, and they're still just sitting there!' Red phantom 2 told him before going back to observing the white phantoms.

There was a brief silence between them before Phantom 1 broke it. "...So what are they talking about?"

"Fuck if I know. From here, it just looked like a two guys in armor bobbing their heads around."

"...This job sucks." Red phantom 1 lamented as he kicked a nearby rock, causing it to roll down the cliff and landing on top of one of the phantom that just so happen to be below them.

"Oi, watch it." the phantom yelled.

"Sorry!" Red phantom 1 cried out before sighing and turning his attention back to red phantom 2. "So, how long you reckon before someone came looking for the girl?"

"Hmm...knowing how her family is like after serving them for many years, it should be…" Phantom 2 trailed off when he noticed a sudden burst of activity in the center of the Kiln. He quickly shift his binoculars towards that direction to see what was going on. It would seem that he wasn't the only one who noticed it as almost everyone had turned their attention towards the center to see what was going on.

There he saw a giant painting leaning against one of the many large rocks that littered this place. The painting used to be laying on the ground when they were summoned but one of the Phantoms picked it up and propped it against the rock at some point during their time here.

"Right on cue." Red phantom 2 muttered as he saw the painting beginning to ripple.

By now, everyone in the Kiln knew someone was coming out of the painting and they all watch with bated breath as they saw a single gauntleted hand reach out from the ripple and grab hold on the edges of the painting. Slowly and surely, the person in the painting pulled themselves out with ease and the identity of said individual was revealed.

The man that appeared was cladded in a finely polished silver armor with blue linings on the edges of his chest plate. There was a leather strap tied around his waist and along it were pouches on one side and throwing daggers on the other. Strapped on his back was a greatsword that had seen it's fair share of combat and drank it's fill of blood from countless enemies. Resting alongside it was a large crossbow with a unique mechanism that allows it to fire bolts repeatedly.

The man's face was hidden by a blue mantle but from within the shadowy veil that hid his features, his long, silver hair could be seen as it reaches his shoulders and a large, gray beard which reaches down to his chest.

The man that appeared was none other than Honor Knight Gael. Whose honor knight you asked? Non other than little Aria of course as he's the one who had to look after her when the Lord of Cinder was unable; which is like, most of the time.

After they had rescue the young mistress, Cinder had saw fit to remove Gael from his slave status and made him the girl's Honored Knight as a reward for helping him. Gael's practically regarded as the Soul of Cinder's right hand man after that because the Lord always goes to him whenever he was troubled. It's also widely known that the one who caused the Soul of Cinder's troubled state was mostly Aria.

Honor Knight Gael had taken on numerous and fearsome foes and prevailed even when all odds were stacked against him. He had accomplished nigh impossible tasks where weaker men would break. But, despite all his grand achievements that would label him as a legendary figure where other men to look up to, he just can't seem to get rid of his other more well known and widely used title.

"The Mother Hen is here! We're going to be free soon boys!" One of the many phantoms down below cried out happily, followed by delighted cheers of all the other phantoms as they knew that their dull time in the Kiln would soon end.

Red phantom 2 could see that Gael was less than pleased that people were still calling him by that title and could only grumble unhappily as he made his way towards the little girl sleeping by the coiled sword in the middle on the Kiln.

The old knight kneel on the ground next to the young mistress and picked her up with one arm with practiced ease, a telling of just how many times he had to do it before and adjusting her position so that she wouldn't fall off as she lay against his chest plate. With his charge secured, Gael slowly rise up from the ground and began moving back towards the painting with haste. Even in his heavy looking armor, Gael moved swiftly and smoothly as if the pieces of metal strapped onto his body wasn't even there.

When the two were gone the Kiln trembled like an earthquake had just struck as everyone cheered and danced together in glee regardless of their team as their bodies started slowly faded away.

It really has been a long two hours for everyone.

 **-0-**

 **Orario- Underneath the Abandon Church In West Main Street**

"Well, you two sure get along quick." Hestia remarked with a small giggle. She was currently mounting on top of Bell as he lay on the only bed in the house barebacked. The Goddess was stroking the boy's back, reading the words written in sacred text that were engraved there as her hand moved over them. The words that were on Bell's back was his Status, also known as God's Grace. What they were doing now is updating Bell Status to strengthen him, something that they usually do at the end of the day.

"I'm not sure if that's the right word to use Kami-sama." Bell let out a weary laugh while feeling the weight on his back shifted a bit and heard a metallic sound coming from behind him, indicating that his Goddess was taking out a needle that was needed for the updating procedure.

Cinder had basically bullied Bell into calling him Nii-san and left right after when he noticed that it was getting late, stating that he still need to find a suitable place to train Bell at before he could actually start training him. So until then, Bell's free to do whatever he wants as long as he doesn't get himself killed.

"So, what do you think of him Bell-kun?" Hestia asked in honest curiosity and the boy crank his head backwards just in time to see his Goddess prick her index finger with the needle, drawing blood. Hestia than place her finger over Bell's back, waiting for the blood to drop.

"Well, he's... an odd person." Bell said honestly after some consideration, eyes locked onto the drop of blood that fell from Hestia's finger. He could feel the droplet splattered against his back and the red ichor that landed on his skin spread like a ripple before completely entering his back.

Bell doesn't dislike Cinder per se. It's just that his personality is very hard to get a grasp on, making him a very confusing person for the young Adventurer.

"Well, you aren't wrong about that." Hestia agreed wholeheartedly. "So, now that things have calmed down a bit, mind explaining to me in compete detail on just why you wandered off so deep into the Dungeon hmm?" Hestia questioned, jabbing her finger at Bell's back with enough force to make him winched. Then her finger started tracing his back fluidly on his back, like someone writing something on a piece of paper.

"Well...it'll take a while to explain." Bell told her.

"It's alright, we have time anyway." Hestia reassured him.

And so, Bell did his best to recount the events that lead him into meeting Cinder all while Hestia sat on his back as she work on updating his Status. Bell didn't know why but the more he talked, the more irritated his Goddess seem to become.

"Let me get this straight. You went down to a lower floor in order to have an encounter with a cute girl but instead you have an encounter with Cinder and a Minotaur...Your fantasy about the dungeon really is amazing." Bell heard Hestia let out a sigh. "Anyway, in such a messy labyrinth, it's impossible to have an encounter with the kind of pure and innocent maiden you were imagining."

"B-but if it's like that then wouldn't there be no hope for the others who have the same dream as me? I mean, I've heard that elves won't even hold hands with others if they do not approve of them!" Bell cried out as his dreams of meeting young, pretty ladies in the dungeon was being shredded by his merciless Goddess.

"Hey, don't yell." Hestia chided before resuming her work. "If you need to know, there are races that are similar to the elves and there are also races like the Amazons that would give their bodies to strong males for strong children. Also, I believe that those with your unrealistic way of thinking would eventually come to a bad end if you don't get rid of it soon. Who knows, maybe the Minotaur was already heading your way when you entered that floor and you would've encountered it anyway even if Cinder didn't lead it to you. You might not be so lucky to survive as you did back then."

"...Yes." Bell let out mournfully as he buried his head into the pillow, his dreams crushed before they could even began.

"Also there is the one called Aiz Wallenstein?" Hestia continued, not really paying attention to Bell now "That beautiful, yet strong girl as you say is sure to have lots of males that's chasing after her already. If I was someone like her, there would probably be a lot of males, trying their best to get my attention."

"How can it be..." Bell groaned as he realized just how out of his league the woman he has a crush on is. Also, his Goddess' mood seem to have worsen when she mentioned Aiz. Could it be that he stepped on a landmine?

"Fuuuu." Hestia let out a deep breath when she realized that she's getting worked up about this Wallen-whatever girl. "Just give up on that momentary infatuation Bell-kun, and pay more attention to your surroundings please. There must be people who are beautiful and gentle and would actually care about you around." Hestia told him in a gentle tone.

"Besides, she's a member of Loki's Familia is she not? Then that means even if you try your best, you won't be able to marry Wallen-whatever because you're both in different Familias."

Bell could feel an arrow stabbing him in the heart as his Goddess' words hit the mark. That's true now that he thought about it. People who joined a Familia can freely choose to marry within their Familia. But let's say that you married a person from another Familia and had a child. Which Familia would the child belong to? Besides, other Gods won't let their children marry others from other Familia because of the poor relationship they all have with each other.

So far, only a few cases of member from other Familias marrying had ever happen so far and they were all special cases.

Eina had also advised him that if he, from the Hestia Familia, and Wallenstein, from the Loki Familia, wanted to date each other, there will be a lot of difficulties in the middle.

"Okay, I'll put it very bluntly for you Bell-kun. Forget about that girl, and look for your encounter with someone else that's not completely out of your league."

"...Kami-sama, you're so mean." came Bell's pitiful reply.

"Geh!?" Hestia let out a surprised cry all off the sudden.

"Kami-sama? What's wrong." Bell's sadness was momentarily forgotten when he heard his Goddess' cry and his words were met with silence.

"Kami-sama?" Bell began worriedly as he tries to push himself up to see what's wrong with his Goddess and the movement seem to have snapped Hestia out of her stupor that she had entered unknowingly.

"Oh, nothing! Nothing's wrong! Anyway, I'm done here so just put on your clothes." Hestia said hurriedly as she got off him.

Bell was confused at his Goddess' behavior but nevertheless obeyed her and push himself off the bed to reach for his clothes that was on the floor.

As bell was putting on his clothes, Hestia was writing down the updated Status on a piece of paper that was prepared beforehand. Hestia was using the language from the Lower World and write it down to tell her child the details more easily, mainly because Bell do not understand the sacred text at all.

Also, it's difficult to see words written on one's back.

But throughout the time she wrote, her eyes kept darting back to Bell's back, more specifically, the engravings that were spread out on his back with a worried look on her face.

Bell finally finished dressing and Hestia quickly calmed herself so that he wouldn't know that something had her worked up and handed him the paper that had his new Status on it. Bell eagerly took it from her hands like a child given candy and his gaze immediately fell onto it, not noticing the concern look his Goddess was giving him.

 **Bell Cranel**

Lv. 1

Strength: I 77 — I 82

Endurance: I 13

Dexterity: I 93 — I 96

Agility: H 148 — H 172

Magic: I 0

Magic

[ ]

Skill

[ ]

Bell noticed that only his Agility increased a surprisingly good amount and he wondered what was the cause of it. ' _Was it because of all the running_ _I_ _did in the Dungeon?'_ he thought as his eyes continue to dart over the piece of paper. Then, he noticed something in particular and couldn't help but point it out. "Kami-sama, what about this skill section? It feels like was wiped away."

"Ahhhh," Hestia let out uncertainly. "Just now my hand slipped. It was blank as usual so don't worry." she explained with a slight sheepish chuckle.

"Ah, I see..." Bell said with a trace of disappointment in his voice. He had some expectations but he suppose he was being greedy for even expecting a skill so soon. Basically Skills and Status values are slightly different, they are special effects that are placed onto the body under certain conditions. If Status represents the strengthening of the body, Skills is the special reactions happening within the body. Although it isn't like magic where you can see just how amazing and flashy it is, the effects of Skills are mostly passives.

Also, the discovery of a Skill is a lot more rare...No wait, there are almost none at all.

After looking over his updated status again, he turn his attention towards the clock on the wall before looking back to his Goddess. "Well, Kami-sama. Should we prepare something else for dinner? Even though the things we have on hand is basically a potato croquettes feast, we shouldn't only eat just that right?"

Hestia nodded in agreement. "Yes, I guess so. See what you can do Bell." she told him with a bright smile.

Bell gave his Goddess a slight smile and place the piece of paper on the table before turning around and headed off into the kitchen.

Hestia watched as Bell-kun entered the kitchen, and quietly adjusted her breathing so calm her heart. She took the paper she had written from the table and compared it with the one on Bell's back from her memory.

 **Bell Cranel**

Lv. 1

Strength: I 77 — I 82

Endurance: I 13

Dexterity: I 93 — I 96

Agility: H 148 — H 172

Magic: I 0

Magic

[ ]

Skill

 **Liaris Freese**

[Single-Minded Pursuit]

Accelerates Growth

Effects last as long as his feelings are unchanged

Effects are determined by the strength of his feelings

' _These children really change_ _so_ _easily...It is completely different from us, who_ _are eternal.'_ Seeing the skill that appeared on Bell made Hestia realized just how quickly he's been growing without her knowledge. It's fine she suppose, it's just how the world is. The people from the lower world are always changing while the Gods and Goddess remained stagnant. It's why they came down to the lower world in the first place. To experience that change themselves.

' _But to think that he got that skill because of that girl...'_

' _No wait!'_ She mentally cried out as she shook her head, her twin-tails flailing around as she did so. She shouldn't be jealous of that Wallen-whatever girl, she should be worried for Bell safety instead. As for why…the paper in Hestia's hand crumbled as she tighten her grip on it, her mind drifting back to the moment where she had just finishing updating his Status and she involuntarily shuddered.

It's the second skill that appeared on his back is the cause of her worry and she has no idea what to do about it. She'll need more details before she could act as well. Maybe she could find her best friend and ask her about it as she's more knowledgeable about the lower world as she had spent more time here than her.

It is a skill that she never thought she would get see herself and had only heard about it from other Gods and Goddesses during the very early years of their descend onto the lower world. Though it was only seen for a century or two before it vanished from the face of the earth forever, the legends and myths that were left behind did not. It remains in the subconscious of every Deity's mind like a long buried trauma, but more like a scar for those who had witness it first hand.

She isn't really clear on the details of those stories but a few things really stood out and remained constant from all of them.

 _ **Monsters**_

 _ **Calamity**_

 _ **Darkness**_

 _ **Death**_

It was a skill that caused wanton destruction of ancient cities and countless loss of lives before the cause could be stopped and...

It was a skill that only Ancient Humans could possess.

 **Slumbering Humanity**

[Untapped potential of the human race]

?


End file.
